MIDDLESBROUGH might have established a two-point safety cushion in the play-off places ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Brentford, but Tony Pulis expects the club’s battle for a top-six spot to go to the final weekend of the season.

Boro head to Griffin Park in a buoyant mood after picking up 13 points from their last five matches, with their fine run of form having lifted them back into the play-off positions for the first time since mid-November.

While they are heading in an upward direction, Derby County, Sheffield United and Bristol City are all suffering something of a stutter.

Significantly, though, Boro still have to play all three of their play-off rivals, as well as facing a home game with league leaders Wolves, and with so many sides in the top half of the table still due to meet each other in their final nine matches, Pulis expects the promotion battle to go right to the wire.

“Anyone who thinks we’ve achieved anything yet only has to have a look at the league and the teams that are around us, still involved,” said the Boro boss, who will take his side to Ipswich Town on the final day of the campaign. “There are so many teams that can still get involved in the shake-up at the end of the season.

“Everybody around that area will understand and recognise that it is going to go right to the end. It’ll go right down to the wire, and nobody can afford to be complacent at this stage. We definitely can’t.

“We won’t be solidifying anything this weekend. I’m sure this will go on until the last couple of games of the season. It’s so tight up there, and it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride right to the end. There’s no doubt about that.”

If the promotion race is akin to a rollercoaster journey, then Boro are definitely back on an upward curve after suffering a few downward lurches during the early weeks of Pulis’ reign.

The 60-year-old won just two of his first six league games, but recent wins over Hull City, Leeds United, Birmingham City and Barnsley have transformed the mood at the Riverside.

With Derby not playing until tomorrow, when they face a difficult game against second-placed Cardiff City, Boro will be guaranteed to jump to fifth position if they win this afternoon, and while they will be taking on a Brentford side that still harbour promotion ambitions of their own, they will kick off in West London as firm favourites.

Confidence in the camp is understandably high, although Pulis has been involved in management for far too long to begin to start taking anything for granted.

“It’s a great run, but anything we’ve done in the past is gone now,” he said. “It’s in the past. It’s all about the next challenge now, and we’ve got to pick the baton up and do exactly what we’ve been doing over the last five or six weeks. We’ve got to make sure we’re prepared properly, and make sure we’re focused.

“There’s not really any middle ground with anything anymore, and you’re not going to stop that. Everything’s either really high or really low, but as a manager, you try to level things off and stay calm, especially with the players within the club.”

Nevertheless, the sense of anticipation will only increase if Boro are triumphant this afternoon, with Griffin Park having proved a happy hunting ground in recent years.

Daniel Ayala’s winner secured a 1-0 success at the home of the Bees when Boro won automatic promotion two seasons ago, and the Teessiders also won on Brentford’s home ground in the first leg of the play-off semi-final 12 months earlier, with Fernando Amorebieta claiming a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

“It’ll be a tough game,” said Pulis. “Their home record is very good. It’s a tight ground that has never changed from when I was a player, never mind a coach there. It’s always a ground where you go and it’s difficult, because it’s so tight to the stands and the supporters.

“We’re in a good run of form though, so there shouldn’t be a problem with confidence. They’ll play very open, so it should be a good game. Will that suit us? We’ll see. We respect the players they’ve got and the great job Dean (Smith) has done there, and understand their strengths. What we have to do now is concentrate on what we’re good at.”