MIDDLESBROUGH players will wear 'Save Our Steel' shirts as they warm-up for Sunday's televised game with Leeds United.
Boro boss Aitor Karanka has pledged his support to the efforts to keep steelmaking on Teesside and hopes that a successful Middlesbrough side can offer troubled workers some small comfort in difficult times.
A week ago, SSI paused its activity at the Redcar site which has led to worries it will be mothballed for the second time in five years. Meanwhile, South Bank Coke Ovens has been closed at a cost of 150 jobs, hundreds of contractors have been laid off, and the site's remaining coke ovens are running out of fuel.
- SSI confirms Tees steelworkers will be paid today
- Save Our Steel: More than 2,000 gather for steel vigil in Redcar
- Boro chairman Steve Gibson urges David Cameron to save Redcar steelworks
- Comment: Team spirit in the fight to save our steel industry
With a total of 2,000 jobs at SSI hanging in the balance and many more in the supply chain in and around Teesside, the potential closure has huge ramifications for the area.
Steve Gibson issued a joint statement with Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald calling on the Government to take action in a bid to save steelmaking on Teesside. And Karanka, who was appointed Boro head coach in November 2013, echoes his chairman’s views.
“I would like to express them all of my support. I think the club and the chairman are the first people committed with them,” said the Spaniard. “I've been here for 22 months but I know how important that industry is in the area, and for that reason, the main way to help them is for us to work harder, help them keep coming to the games happier. That's how we can support them and we will work harder.
“For me as a manager, it's always about the results or the positions in the table.
“After I go home after matches on a Saturday or a Tuesday, or after training during the week, the best feeling is when I know all the people are happy, and all the players are committed with the team.
“I think the people need to be happy as in these moments when all of us know the problems in the work and the companies, it's a little bit complicated when you forget those problems.
“We won Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday and it's my pleasure when I go to bed and I can feel that the people are happy.”
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