Middlesbrough's next ten games are a great opportunity providing they do one thing

When assessing Middlesbrough's next ten games, it's hard not to feel like it's a massive opportunity for Michael Carrick's side.

Boro have slipped out of the top six heading into Saturday's clash with Millwall having come through two of the toughest games the fixture schedule will throw up this season consecutively with just one point. There were positives to take from the draw at Burnley though, more so than the defeat at Leeds United.

Now looking ahead to the next chink of games, it feels, on paper at least that the next ten games offer Boro a real opportunity to get a lot of points on the board and cement their top-six credentials. Football isn't played on paper, of course, but something Tommy Conway said before Burnley springs to mind.

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Across their next ten games, Boro will be big favourites heading into at least seven of them. Encouragingly, the three toughest games of the run are all the Riverside too. Admittedly, Boro's form at the Riverside hasn't been good enough again this term, though they've won two of their last three on home turf, scoring eight goals in the process.

Boro can rebound from their Leeds disappointing through the festive period and into the New Year by taking confidence from their run pre-Burnley, where they lost only one in five - that being a controversial one against Blackburn. Missing key players, it was an off-night for Carrick's side in an otherwise bright and free-scoring period.

Speaking before Burnley, Conway reflected on Boro's form, saying: “People are going to start seeing us as a good team now and we’ve got to try to live up to that expectation. It requires everyone to step-up on the day, and live it and be present. If you look at the teams at the top of any league around the world, they win when they’re expected to.

"If that’s where we want to be then that’s what we’ve got to strive towards. We have to start being so big a threat that teams worry about us. Particularly at home - no one should come here and take points off us easily. We’re getting there. I think we’re so close, if not there already."

Conway's words ring true as Boro head into their next ten games, where they will have the 'favourites' tag for the majority. They have to make sure that the belief and momentum built up in those four high-scoring victories last month is not lost, and they carry that mentality and expectation into every game.

They say there are no easy games in the Championship, and that may well be true. But providing Boro are at or close to their best across the next ten, there's absolutely no reason they can't claim 30 points from 30. The crazy nature of the Championship means that's an unlikely ask, but it speaks volumes about the run.

Culminating with the Tees-Wear Derby on February 3, Boro can put themselves in a really healthy position if they live up to expectations in the next two months. It's likely to be a period which determines Boro's season one way or the other, with the harsh reality that, if Boro are serious promotion contenders, then 21 points minimum has to be the target.

Middlesbrough's next ten games

• Saturday, December 14 - Millwall (H)

• Saturday, December 21 - Plymouth Argyle (A)

• Thursday, December 26 - Sheffield Wednesday (H)

• Sunday, December 29 - Burnley (H)

• Wednesday, January 1 - Hull City (A)

• Saturday, January 4 - Cardiff City (H)

• Saturday, January 18 - Portsmouth (A)

• Tuesday, January 21 - WBA (H)

• Saturday, January 25 - Preston North End (A)

• Monday, February 3 - Sunderland (H)