Boro believe - and that's largely down to Gibson and Karanka

There was the miserable grind of the Gordon Strachan era, where the dourness of the football on the pitch matched the mood of a manager who blew the club’s post-Premier League millions on a succession of inadequate Scotsmen.

Then, there was the pain of Tony Mowbray’s return, a period that should have been a joyous acclamation of a favourite son, but which instead resulted in a grudging acceptance that the successes of the former captain’s playing spell were not going to be repeated with him in the dug-out.

With the parachute payments spent and the Football League’s Financial Fair Play rules beginning to bite, it was generally acknowledged that Boro’s best chance of returning to the top-flight had been and gone. All of which makes tomorrow’s trip to Wembley all the more remarkable, exciting and crucial in terms of the club’s future development.

At the start of the season, promotion was regarded as a tantalising possibility, but no more than that. Having been appointed in the November of the previous campaign, Aitor Karanka had shown enough to suggest that he could continue to drive Boro forward, but a 12th-placed finish hardly suggested that a viable promotion push was inevitable.

The Spanish head coach had successfully addressed many of his side’s defensive failings, and the addition of the likes of Kike, Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford hinted at a more positive approach than had been the case in Karanka’s first few months in charge.

Still, though, when August brought back-to-back home defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and Reading, leaving Boro struggling in 16th position, there was a sense that mid-table security was probably the best that could be hoped for.

Nine months on, and ambitions have been transformed, perceptions irrevocably altered. When Boro narrowly failed to achieve automatic promotion at the start of this month, there was disappointment at missing out on a prize that had looked within reach for the majority of the season, but no sense of panic from either inside or outside the camp.

Would it be ‘Typical Boro’ to make a mess of the play-offs? Not any longer. A comprehensive semi-final victory over Brentford was no more than was expected, and while Norwich City will provide stern opposition in tomorrow’s play-off final, Boro’s players and supporters will head to Wembley anticipating playing in the Premier League next season.

Their confidence does not reflect a misplaced arrogance, merely an acknowledgment that this is a club and squad that has made a huge amount of progress in the last 12 months. For the first time since the glory days of Cardiff, Steaua and Eindhoven, Boro are right to believe.

Karanka deserves a huge amount of credit for that, and while eyebrows might have been raised when Steve Gibson appointed a former assistant whose only claim to fame appeared to be his status as Jose Mourinho’s right-hand man, the chairman’s judgement has once again been vindicated.

From his meticulous planning and astute man-management to his eye for tactical detail and innovative approach on the training ground, Karanka has transformed the outlook of a playing squad that had grown stale under first Strachan and then Mowbray.

All footballers talk of the strength of their team bond whether they mean it or not, but you only have to spend an hour or two in the company of the current group of Boro players to realise there is substance to their statements.

This is a squad with a powerful drive to succeed, and while very few of them will have experienced anything like the pressure-cooker atmosphere they will face tomorrow, it is a safe bet that Karanka’s work in the last few days will ensure that whatever they encounter will not faze them.

There is plenty of ability in the Boro side, from the defensive class of Daniel Ayala and Ben Gibson through to the attacking vision of Bamford and Lee Tomlin, but there is also a resolute steeliness, personified by Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton and reflective of Karanka’s overall approach to the game.

While Norwich might boast more players with Premier League experience, Boro are packed with players desperate to experience the top-flight. In the final reckoning, that could prove crucial.

Signing those players has not always been easy, and while tomorrow’s Wembley appearance is a deserved reward for so many people involved in the club, promotion will be a fitting prize for one person above all others.

In an era where football club ownership has become a pursuit driven by finance rather than fandom, profits rather than points, Gibson’s stewardship of Middlesbrough stands out like a beacon.

For the last six seasons, he has written off around £1m a month to ensure that his boyhood club remains competitive on the field and a true community asset off it. While Boro’s crowds have hovered below the 20,000 mark, Gibson has continued to top up the club’s bank balance to enable it to compete at the limit of its Fair Play capabilities.

Why? Because he cares as much as the other 40,000-or-so supporters who will flock to Wembley tomorrow. That is why they will serenade him as if he was the goalscoring match-winner if things go well, and stand by him for another season if they do not. Whatever happens tomorrow, the strength of that bond should remain a source of pride.