GEORGE FRIEND has dismissed suggestions that his Middlesbrough team-mates lack the mental resolve needed to overcome Norwich City in tonight’s promotion showdown.

Boro head to Carrow Road knowing that a defeat will almost certainly signal the end of their hopes of achieving automatic promotion this season.

Aitor Karanka’s side have already travelled to two of their promotion rivals in the last month, and both games ended in defeat as they were comprehensively beaten at first Bournemouth and then Watford.

Avoiding an unwanted hat-trick will be the main aim tonight, and Friend is confident there will be no inferiority complex when Boro line up against a side two places above them in the table.

“Things didn’t go to plan in the Bournemouth and Watford games, but we didn’t play that badly,” said Friend. “And you have to remember how well we played when we went to Manchester City and Liverpool away in the cups.

“They were tougher tests, so why should we worry about going to Carrow Road? The form of our team after the two home games is excellent, we have such power, organisation, strength and mental strength.

“The last two tests away from home have been disappointing, and we have not got the results we wanted or even scored – so we don’t want three of them.

“We want to show that form away from home that we showed at the start of the season and we can do that. It really matters now, and if we can show the unity of the team which we showed against Wolves, I am sure we can push on.”

Karanka has admitted that Boro can forget about automatic promotion if they lose this evening, but the Spaniard has previously claimed that Bournemouth and Norwich are the teams under the most pressure as they attempt to hold on to their places in the top two.

Friend agrees, and while Norwich’s home form over the last few months has been excellent, the full-back is hoping to exploit any early nerves in the Canaries’ ranks.

“Norwich will be nervous,” he said. “They are at home and they need it as well, so I just want to recreate that form we had away from home where we are organised and solid, and we can get on counter-attack, use our wingers and really push on.”

Tuesday’s win over Wolves means Boro are guaranteed a place in the play-offs whatever happens in the remaining three matches, but a top-two finish remains the overriding ambition with tonight’s game preceding a trip to Fulham and a final-day home game with Brighton.

“We’re definitely in the play-offs now, which is something, and I think the fans would have taken that,” said Friend. “I would, but I’m pretty ambitious, and because I’ve had a taste of things, I want to keep pushing.

“It’s always nice to be flirting with the top two, but yeah, I would have taken it (the play-offs) at the start of the season, and I would back us against anyone in the league, so if that’s the way we have to do it, we’re confident we can.”