TONY PULIS can’t wait to start making more changes to the way Middlesbrough do things behind-the-scenes – once, he hopes, to have enjoyed a promotion party following a Premier League return.

The Boro boss has not had much time to tweak things since taking over at the Riverside Stadium on Boxing Day because his main focus has had to be on leading the team into the play-offs.

With three matches remaining he has managed to do that, although his players can’t afford to think that it is mission accomplished because of the nature of the Championship and the fixtures they have remaining.

Middlesbrough face fellow contenders for a play-off spot Derby and Millwall in their next two fixtures and the outcomes of those will go a long way in determining whether they have managed to finish in the top six.

Even then Pulis’ sights will be on preparing his players for the end of season shoot-out for the Premier League, which is shaping up to be one of the toughest in recent years because of the quality of the sides hoping to get to Wembley.

The former Stoke City manager would love to be still playing and involved in such occasions at the end of the season, and he will not be hiding anything from his players when he urges them to make the most of these next few weeks.

Pulis said: “For what we talk about, we want the lads to turn up, roll their sleeves up and play the way they play. They need to work as hard as they have been for me most of the time and we need them to perform, they know the score.

“I am not trying to hide anything. The next game is the biggest game. We have had a long season, it’s the business time now and let’s get down and get the business done.

“We know we have got these three games left, during an opportunity we have been faced with where we play three of the teams in the top ten over the final four games.

“We can eradicate all of our problems against the better sides in the division during this run by finishing in the top six and we started well on Saturday (against Bristol City).”

Fifth-placed Middlesbrough know that slipping up at Derby could see them taken over by the Rams, while Millwall are only a point and place below the Teessiders too. It would also open the door to Preston, Sheffield United, Brentford and Bristol City to close the gap.

The prospect of facing Millwall at the Riverside a week on Saturday, though, would represent a huge opportunity to nail down that play-off spot if they can claim positive results in both.

Having spent so much money since relegation from the Premier League, the challenge facing the players is to go straight back up and Pulis knows exactly that is expected of him even if he only took over from Garry Monk in December.

Only once the season has finished will Pulis be happy to tinker with aspects of the club he feels requires improvement.

He said: “I have enjoyed coming into new surroundings and looking for things we can improve on since I came here, take forward, I have enjoyed it.

“There are good things here, a few uplifts needed here and there too. It’s a good football club. Given time hopefully we can put things in place to really push things on.”

It remains unclear what Patrick Bamford’s fitness is like. The striker required lengthy treatment on the Riverside pitch last Saturday after falling awkwardly under a challenge from Bristol City defender Aden Flint.

As things stand he is the only serious doubt ahead of the trip to Derby because he may require a check from the doctor on Friday to determine if he is fit to play. Pulis suggested after the game that he should be fit.