JUST over a month ago, I remember sitting with a group of Middlesbrough supporters on a bench at Charlton station and picking through the carcass of a club that felt like it was in meltdown.

Aitor Karanka was nowhere to be seen following his training-ground tantrum, the players had just produced their worst display of the season as they lost to a team floundering in the relegation zone and the league table showed Boro in third position, and with seemingly no chance of returning to the top two.

What a difference four weeks makes. Five games and 15 points on, and the Teessiders are within touching distance of the Premier League with five more matches to play. Win four of them, and top-flight football will be returning to the Riverside come August.

It is a remarkable turnaround, and in a season that has seen plenty of deserved criticism levelled at those at Newcastle United and Sunderland who look like contributing to their respective club’s relegation, it is only fair to heap praise on the people who have hauled Middlesbrough back from brink.

That group includes Karanka, and having criticised the Spaniard’s inflexibility in a previous column, his willingness to build bridges in the last month or so has to be acknowledged. It cannot have been easy for him to return to the training ground in the days after the Charlton fiasco, knowing his authority had been undermined and his previously untouchable seniority challenged.

He had called his superiors’ bluff and been left red-faced when he was prevented from returning to take charge of the trip to the Valley, and for someone who has built his reputation on a complete command of power, that cannot have been a comfortable scenario to face.

Yet rather than lashing out and making the situation worse, Karanka has subsequently sought to repair damaged relationships and dampen down any potential flashpoints. Stewart Downing and Jordan Rhodes, who were cited as key factors in the tensions that erupted in the middle of last month, have remained integral parts of the squad. Not guaranteed starters – even their staunchest admirers would concede their form has not warranted such a status – but not scapegoats either.

The Northern Echo:

Tellingly, after implicitly criticising the fans in the wake of last month’s defeat at Blackburn – “some people will still be happy with this result” – he has made a point of praising the support both he and his players have received.

Clearly, there is a degree of self-preservation in his actions because he has to get Middlesbrough out of the Championship for his time on Teesside to be deemed an unqualified success, but having allowed his emotions to get the better of him, he has successfully recalibrated his approach.

That he retained the support of Steve Gibson throughout last month’s saga was crucial, and not for the first time, the Boro chairman pitched his reaction to an unfolding crisis perfectly.

He was firm when he had to be, insisting that Karanka’s presence should not be allowed to detract from a crucial game at Charlton. However, having witnessed the shambolic display in South London, he quickly accepted that jettisoning his boss was not an option.

Gibson, like Karanka, is a proud individual, and one imagines the 20-minute conversation the duo held to smooth over any differences in London was not a particularly comfortable one for either party. Only Gibson will know what his heart was telling him when he learned of Karanka’s behaviour at the training ground, and it remains to be seen whether the episode has any repercussions that extend beyond the end of the season.

The Northern Echo:

When it mattered most, though, Gibson was astute enough to recognise that Boro stood a much better chance of securing promotion with Karanka in charge than without him. They still have to get over the finishing line, but his judgement has already proved correct.

And then, of course, there are the players. Interestingly, when Karanka appeared to be setting himself up against his squad, most supporters were quick to back the head coach rather than the players. The message boards and radio phone-ins were in meltdown – too many people needed to be brought down a peg or two, player power was raging out of control.

The stereotyping was always too simplistic, and the recent run of games has confirmed as much. I can name plenty of North-East based players who don’t appear to give a damn about what happens to their team this season – and none of them play for Middlesbrough.

Instead, Boro are lucky to have a senior core that, in terms of personality, would be the envy of pretty much any other side in the country. The likes of Dimi Konstantopoulos, Ben Gibson, Adam Clayton, Grant Leadbitter and George Friend provide exactly the kind of character and drive you would want in a promotion battle.

Whatever tensions might or might not have existed in the weeks accompanying Boro’s spring stutter have been eradicated. The best dressing rooms police themselves, and this is a Boro squad where an absence of leadership is not an issue.

The Northern Echo:

As Adam Forshaw rightly pointed out yesterday, it’s not a coincidence when you score two crucial stoppage-time winners in the space of four home games, or string together five successive victories at the most critical stage of the campaign.

The outpouring of emotion that accompanied the final whistle of Tuesday’s win over Reading underlined just how much this means to Middlesbrough’s players. After steadying the ship so successfully, they now deserve to complete their promotion challenge.

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Boro’s recent victories stand in marked contrast to the struggles of Newcastle and Sunderland, but the Teessiders are not the only North-East football team enjoying a successful spell.

Craig Hignett has performed heroics since taking over at Hartlepool United, and while you won’t find anyone in football with a bad word to say about the former Boro assistant, it’s nice that his coaching skills are now also being recognised. Safe in League Two after losing just two of their last ten games, Pools could be an outside bet for promotion next term.

Hopefully, Darlington will be celebrating their third promotion in four years a week tomorrow, and Martin Gray’s side also deserve huge credit for the way in which they have reeled in Blyth Spartans in recent weeks. They need seven points from four games to secure the Northern Premier League title – and ensure next season’s return to their hometown will be even more special.