Wayne Rooney issues Middlesbrough Championship promotion verdict after Plymouth draw
Wayne Rooney expects Middlesbrough to be among the leading contenders for promotion in the Championship this season - and believes a top-two finish is still achievable.
The Manchester United legend made the claim after his Plymouth Argyle side held Boro to a 3-3 draw at Home Park on Saturday, thus denting the prospects of his former team-mate and good friend Michael Carrick. Another entertaining clash between the two sides, it was one in which Rooney was disappointed not to get more from as he battles to keep his own side in the Championship this season.
But having praised Boro ahead of the game and spoke highly of their quality, Rooney was again complimentary of Carrick's side after the game. Asked about his thoughts on their promotion credentials, he admitted to expecting them to be up there come the end of the season.
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Rooney said: “We know that Middlesbrough are a good side and they’ve been on a decent run lately so we were expecting a very difficult game which we got. And I’m sure they’ll be there or thereabouts for the play-off places or even one of the automatic promotion spots which will be up for grabs so I’m sure that will be their target.
“We knew Michael would get them coming back at us hard after half-time and that’s why it turned out to be such a good game for the neutrals to watch. It’s encouraging for us that we came up against a very strong team with some very good players. The big difference in this game was the substitutions they were able to make.
"Ultimately, we knew it would be a tough game so coming away with a point is not the worst thing in the world. But I felt we did enough to get all three points he’s a good friend or mine and you always want to win so you get the bragging rights among friends. But this was about us as a club and we just fell short, not through a lack of effort but through a bit of naivety."
