John Eustace could shake things up at Middlesbrough this weekend – and challenged anyone who comes into the side to grasp the opportunity.

It has been a hectic few weeks in the Championship, with the games coming thick and fast over the festive period.

With a slight change of pace in the FA Cup, Eustace now has a chance to give some minutes to those who “need” them.

However, the head coach insists whichever team he picks against Boro will be “competitive” as Rovers look to reach the next round.

“We haven’t got that many options, to be fair, to change that many bodies,” said Eustace. “We will try and give as many minutes as we can to players who need the minutes.

“We will see how we are on Friday, there are a few injured and ill today who didn’t train with us. They are only minor things, but we will have to see where we are and pick a team from there.”

He added: “The FA Cup is a fantastic competition, one of the biggest in the world. Anyone who speaks about the FA Cup will know exactly what it is all about.

“Last season, we managed to have a fantastic round against Newcastle. The atmosphere that night was magnificent.

“We want to progress in the Cup, of course we do. We always take it very seriously and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Eustace issued updates on Yuki Ohashi, Lewis Travis, Arnor Sigurdsson and Hayden Carter, with two of the injured quartet edging closer to a return.

“Yuki will be between three and four weeks,” he stated. “Trav’s started a little bit of jogging today, which is great. He’s getting closer. Siggy’s getting closer as well.

“The boys are doing well and Hayden has had some really good news as well from the specialist who he saw yesterday.

“He’s going to be three or four weeks away as well. We’re getting players back and we want to get them back as soon as we can, of course.

“We have a lot of games coming up and we want a really competitive squad to help us move up the league.”

Matty Litherland and Harley O’Grady-Macken were both named on the bench at Burnley last weekend.

When asked if any Academy talent could be included this weekend, the boss replied: “I am sure there will be some in the squad.

“We have had two in the bench on the last three or four games, they will be part of the group. We will have a look at the numbers on Friday, see where we are and take it from there.”

The tie is slightly different to what Rovers have experienced in past years, with replays no longer in effect if the scores are level after 90 minutes.

When asked if it will alter his approach, Eustace explained: “We don’t change our view on it at all. We will go there and obviously try to win the game against a really good team.

“It will give us opportunities to play some players who need minutes as well, which is important, but we know that the team will be very competitive.”