IF you were told that Daniel Ayala had turkey on his mind after Middlesbrough’s play-off final defeat in May, the assumption would be that he quickly disappeared on holiday to get over the frustrations of losing at Wembley.

But rather than head to a beach in Antalya or Bodrum on holiday, the Spanish defender returned to his Andalusian roots to work on his parents’ farm to try to forget about the defeat to Norwich City which left Boro planning for a further year in the Championship.

Ayala has become a key figure in the Middlesbrough team under Aitor Karanka and his grounded approach to life as a professional footballer stems from his childhood in El Saucejo, a town located in the province of Seville.

He wasn’t always set on becoming a footballer, though, despite his talent with the ball. Ayala considered the family path of farming – something he still gets his hands dirty with to this day.

"It is mainly a turkey farm and they also grow olives,” said Ayala, who regularly brings olive oil over for team-mates and friends in England.

“I grew up on the farm and used to help out. Even now when I go home for the summer, I will help out. It is always good to help your parents and I don't mind. I will help out in every way I can. It is not just turkeys on the farm although that is the main thing. They also have pigs.

"When I finished school, I thought that was what I would do but I changed my mind and chose football instead. I don't think I will be a farmer when I retire. It is too much like hard work!

"But in the summer, I enjoy going with my dad and helping him in his various jobs. There is so much to do - cleaning, tidying, collecting but I don't clean out the pig stys!

"Most footballers when they go on holidays, they go for the sun and lie on the beach. In Seville, I get the sun but I am working. It is very different. But I do not consider it hard work. I enjoy it because I am paying back my parents for everything they gave me. In life, it is important to give something back.”

That was what Ayala was doing during the close-season, when he returned to Spain to see his family, just weeks after the disappointment of losing the play-off final.

"It was not the best summer for me after Wembley,” said Ayala. “But we are over it now. I admit I found it hard for a few weeks, because we had been dreaming of coming back here as a Premier League club but all that is forgotten now.

"You would think that going back to Spain and working on a farm would help me stop thinking about the play-offs but it was hard for quite a time.

“To get over it, you think about all the things that you can do better but I admit it took me a while. For two or three weeks I was thinking how it could have been so different but that is football. Sometimes you make a mistake and things do not work out for you like you had planned.”

With farm-life behind him again for a few months, the 24-year-old does not want to have such professional pain with him when he heads back next time. Nor does he think he will, believing Middlesbrough have the quality to go one better this time around.

He said: "We have new players, more depth and competition but above all, I think the mentality is even stronger than last season and that is just as important. We were good last year but even better this year especially after what happened.”

Just 19 days ago, Ayala celebrated becoming a father following the birth of his son Arhlo, so the 2015-16 season has already been special with Middlesbrough sitting second in the Championship after winning seven in a row.

“I am very happy,” said Ayala, who will be at the heart of the defence again today at third-placed Reading. “It's hard work but my wife is doing all the night shifts. Something like this really changes your life.

"It is a good time for me at Middlesbrough as well because we are winning all the time. Life is really good. It could not get any better at the moment. Now we just need to keep it going with a win on Saturday and eventually promotion at the end of the season.”