GARRY MONK could not be happier with his first six weeks in charge at the Riverside, but the Middlesbrough manager has warned against taking anything for granted despite the Teessiders’ status as the bookmakers’ favourites for promotion.

Monk will take charge of Boro’s penultimate pre-season game when he takes his side to Rochdale this afternoon, and the former Swansea and Leeds boss has been delighted with the progress that has been made since his appointment at the start of last month.

He has spent more than £30m on signing Jonny Howson, Cyrus Christie, Martin Braithwaite and Britt Assombalonga, and has begun to stamp his own imprint on a squad that still boasts a core of players that helped take Boro to the Premier League two seasons ago.

The bookmakers make Boro 7-1 favourites to claim the Championship title, and Monk sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic. However, his experience of life in the second tier means he is only too aware of how difficult it is going to be to bounce back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.

“I’ve been very happy with the club, and the recruitment we’ve done so far this summer,” said Monk, who is set to talk to West Ham officials this weekend to discuss a potential move for goalkeeper Darren Randolph, with the Hammers keen to offload the 30-year-old following the loan signing of Joe Hart.

“In terms of balancing things up, we’ve had a lot of outgoings as well.

“Balancing the books and bringing in money that way, as well as buying players, is something that we have to be mindful of. I think we’ve done well with both things.

“As a group and a club, coming off the back of what was a hugely disappointing season last season, it’s our job to try to lift the confidence of the players and the club as a whole. But we have to understand we’re going into one of the most difficult seasons you could have.

“We’ve seen it before. In the last ten years, 30 teams have come down and only nine have bounced back straight away. That just proves how difficult and competitive this league is going to be. We’re under no illusions, and the players are under no illusions about how difficult this season is going to be.

“We have to be ready. The players’ attitude towards it is great, and we’re going to get better and better as we go along. But we’re under no illusions how difficult the season is going to be, so everyone has to stay focused.”

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Nevertheless, having taken over a club that was down in the dumps following last season’s relegation, Monk has quickly generated a sense of optimism and excitement ahead of the new campaign.

Signing the likes of Braithwaite and Assombalonga has helped, but Monk’s upbeat, laidback approach has also been key to removing much of the edginess and division that characterised the latter days of the Aitor Karanka era.

It feels like a new start, and that was something Monk was keen to engender when he agreed to take over on Teesside after resigning from his previous position at Leeds.

“You want to create excitement, but I’m also very mindful that it’s a new group,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done. It’s a new group working together, with a new manager and new ideas.

“Off the back of the season we’ve just had, there are a lot of elements that need to be put right. That’s not an easy task, and we’re only a few weeks into it.

“Of course we want to try to attract good players, but we’ve also moved out players. It’s important to get a good competitive squad that can do well in this league because it’s such a long league with so many games in such short spaces of time. It’s very difficult to be consistent, but that’s what we’re going to strive for, and that’s what we’re working for every single day.”

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Having left a number of senior players out of the side that drew at Mansfield on Tuesday night, Monk is set to name a much-changed team at Rochdale.

The likes of Ben Gibson, Daniel Ayala, Marten de Roon, Adama Traore and Rudy Gestede should start at Spotland, and there is also a good chance of Braithwaite and Assombalonga being involved at some stage.

“We had two games last week (in Portugal) with different teams in each 45 minutes, but this week it was always planned to try to get 90 minutes into people,” said Monk. “It’ll be a different side (at Rochdale) to get 90 minutes into different players.

“It’s about trying to make sure that as many different players in the squad as possible get 90 minutes. That’s the process. We did 45 minutes last week, but this week we’ve stepped it up to 90.”