STEWART DOWNING admits he did not envisage Middlesbrough having the comfort of a five-point advantage at the top of the table at this stage of the season – and is urging his team-mates not to give the chasing pack any opportunity to close the gap.

Boro opened up a six-point margin at the head of affairs when they won at Brentford on Tuesday, and while Hull’s subsequent victory over Cardiff saw them trim the Teessiders’ advantage to five, that still represents a healthy lead with three-and-a-half months to go.

Aitor Karanka’s side will attempt to move even further clear when they travel to Bristol City this afternoon, where they will look to extend a nine-game unbeaten run that stretches back to the start of November.

Downing always insisted that automatic promotion was the target when he dropped out of the Premier League to rejoin Boro last summer, but having watched events in the Championship from afar last season, the 31-year-old admits he did not expect things to be going quite so well at this stage of the campaign.

“I thought the league would be a lot tighter, I’ll be honest,” said the former England international. “I watched a lot of Boro games last season, and one minute they were top, then they were third, then they were down to fifth, and then back up to third.

“It was a merry-go-round to be honest. There were times when it looked like they might pull away, but they ended up in the play-offs.

“It’s normally a very tight league, but if you keep winning, it makes a big difference. We’ve got a very good squad, and I do think we’re stronger than last year. There’s more experience.”

That experience has helped Boro recover from the trauma of last season’s play-off final defeat to mount another promotion push, with the memory of May’s Wembley heartbreak helping drive on the players who were directly involved.

“It was a big disappointment losing at Wembley, but I think the lads know they were one game away from the Premier League and don’t want that to happen again,” said Downing. “People like Grant (Leadbitter), Adam (Clayton) and Dani (Ayala), who were here last season, have all bounced back and had really good seasons.

“Credit to them. They could have gone under, but they’re good lads with a good team spirit about them. I sensed that as soon as I came and signed at Marbella.”

Bristol City were involved in one of Boro’s few setbacks this term as they claimed a surprise 1-0 win at the Riverside in August.

That remains the Teessiders’ only home league defeat of the campaign, and Downing admits there will be an element of revenge if the tables are turned this afternoon.

“There’s a point to prove,” he said. “They beat us at home. I don’t know how, but they did. We need to win. If other teams slip up again and we win, we can pull a little bit further ahead.

“The pressure will be on them as the home team. They lost again in the week (to Preston), and we’re on a roll and have the confidence we can beat anyone.

“We’ve had some great results over the past month, and if we can win again, that will give us another massive boost.”