HIS side might have racked up a six-game unbeaten run, but Garry Monk expects tomorrow’s trip to Fulham to provide a measure of where Middlesbrough find themselves as they look to mount a successful promotion charge.

The Teessiders head to Craven Cottage in a buoyant mood having seen off QPR in their last league outing and progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup courtesy of a comfortable victory at Aston Villa on Tuesday night.

Fulham’s last Championship outing saw them lose at Burton Albion, and Slavisa Jokanovic’s side go into this weekend’s game seven places below their opponents in the table.

Nevertheless, Monk regards the Cottagers as one of the favourites for promotion this season, having been hugely impressed by their performances against his Leeds United side last term. As a result, he see tomorrow’s game as a useful barometer of Boro’s progress since his appointment at the start of the summer.

“For me, Fulham were the best team in the league last season,” said Monk. “They were the most difficult team we played against and played very good football. Another season forward, they will have improved on that.

“They’re a team that are going in the right direction. They’ve got a very good manager, and he sets them up in a really good way. It’s a way that’s going to test us for sure, and we have to be ready for that. I think (Tom) Cairney is probably due back for this game, and that’s another thing we’ll have to be aware of.

“The game is definitely going to test us, and it will be a marker in some respects of where we are at this point. No game defines your season at this stage, but it’ll show us where we are. We’re on a good run, and we’ll try to take that confidence and momentum down there with us.”

Monk has been pleased with his side’s progress since their opening-day defeat at Wolves, with their only other reverse having come in a game they dominated at Nottingham Forest.

There have been signs of increased cohesion in the last few weeks, most notably in the 3-0 win at Bolton and last weekend’s victory over QPR, although Boro’s players are yet to hit the heights for a full 90 minutes.

That is understandable given the number of changes that were enacted this summer, and Monk expects his side to continue improving as the season progresses. Nevertheless, he is happy with the signs he has seen so far.

“I don’t think we’ve been at our best yet, right across the team,” he said. “But that improvement and consistency is what we’re striving for. The attitude towards fighting for that improvement is there on a daily basis, and I have to give the players credit for that.

“They’re fighting for that very hard, all of them. As a manager and staff, that’s what gives you confidence you’re on the right path. That improvement will come with time.”

Tuesday’s performance at Aston Villa has provided Monk with a welcome selection dilemma, with Patrick Bamford having made an especially compelling case for his inclusion in the starting line-up.

Bamford scored his first two goals of the season at Villa Park, but could find himself back on the substitutes’ bench with Monk expected to stick with Britt Assombalonga, who scored in the win over QPR.

Bamford’s versatility means he could replace either Marvin Johnson or Lewis Baker from the side that started last weekend, although the former was in especially impressive form as he made his first Boro start six days ago.

Martin Braithwaite and Rudy Gestede remain the only injury absentees, with the former still not ready for a first-team return despite being back in full training and the latter continuing to recuperate after leg surgery.

“It’s the same group as we’ve been having,” said Monk. “Martin is back in training, it’s just about building him up now and getting some fitness into him from the football perspective. The weekend game will probably be too soon, but we’re looking into next week (to get him back).

“Rudy is a difficult one to assess because it’s a case of how the wound heals. He’s doing well though, and we’re hoping its sooner rather than later.”

Boro’s reward for Tuesday’s win at Villa was a fourth-round tie at Bournemouth, and while Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has called for the League Cup to be scrapped to ease fixture congestion, Monk remains a big fan of the competition.

“I love the League Cup,” said the Boro boss, who picked up a winners’ medal at Wembley after coming off the bench in Swansea City’s 2013 win over Bradford. “I’ve always been a traditionalist, and I’ve grown up watching the cups in this country. They’ve got a great tradition and history, and history is always important.

“Of course the FA Cup is the most historic tournament, but the League Cup is just as important. You can make changes, and people might say that’s devaluing it, but I think you could see from the commitment of the players we put out on Tuesday what it meant to them.

“I’ve made changes at all my teams, but you’re paying respect to the cup as long as your team displays the right approach and attitude. We want to do well in the League Cup. We want to try to have a good cup run and win as many games as possible.”