WITH his last-gasp winner over Reading having propelled Middlesbrough back to the top of the Championship table, Adam Forshaw is delighted to have the club’s promotion prospects in the players’ hands.

Boro head into their final five games of the season knowing that four victories will guarantee them a place in the Premier League. The points tally required could turn out to be lower with the Teessiders still to face Burnley and Brighton, but a 12-point haul will ensure Boro are back in the top-flight no matter what occurs around them.

It is a strong position to be in, particularly when the traumas of the last couple of months are taken into account, and while Forshaw has been at pains to insist that nothing can be taken for granted, he accepts that everyone associated with Boro would have taken the current situation had they been offered it at the start of the season.

This time last year, Boro were heading into their final five matches in fourth position, knowing they needed at least two of the teams above them to slip up in order to make the top two. This time around, however, they are masters of their own destiny.

“We’ve always said from the start of the season that we want to be focused on what we’re doing,” said Forshaw, who settled things against Reading as he drilled home in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time. “If we’re good enough, we go up, it’s as simple as that.

“We’re in that position now, and that’s the bottom line. If we continue to get three points between now and the end of the season, then we go up regardless of what anyone else is doing.

“We don’t have to worry about games like Brighton’s on Monday night, or what Burnley are doing at the weekend. If we are to go up, then all we have to do is keep on winning games. We’ve got five to go now, and we know what’s needed.”

A repeat of the spirit that carried Boro to victory on Tuesday would be welcome in the games that remain, and it says much for the strength of character within the dressing room that last month’s chaotic defeat at Charlton has been followed by five straight victories.

With Brighton having claimed a stoppage-time winner on Monday, it was imperative that Boro came up with a success of their own as they played their game in hand.

Their overall performance against Reading certainly didn’t smack of a team struggling to cope with the pressure, and Forshaw claims his team-mates are relishing the intensity of the final stages of the promotion race.

“We’re in a good position,” he said. “If you can’t enjoy this kind of pressure, then I don’t think you should be playing the game because there’s a lot of teams that are a lot worse off than us.

“We’re in a great position and we’ve got a great team. Everything’s going really well for the club, but it’s not finished yet. Of course there’s some sort of pressure, but it’s got to be enjoyable at the same time.”

That enjoyment was apparent in the reaction that followed Forshaw’s winner, and it is surely no coincidence that Boro have summoned the resolve required to score a stoppage-time decider in two of their last five matches.

“It’s a combination of a lot of things to be able to do that,” said Forshaw. “First and foremost, I think we deserve winners like we scored on Tuesday night because of all the hard work we’ve put in to get to this stage.

“The time we spend at Rockliffe every day, things like going to Marbella for a training camp – it all counts, and it’s all helped make the team into a close-knit group.

“Good teams keep on trying, and we never give up. We’ve shown that now in quite a few games this season. I think it’s a good trait to have, and we can be proud of it.”

Forshaw has also had to display a fair amount of individual resolve as he has found himself shuffled in and out of the team at various stages this season.

With Aitor Karanka tending to prefer Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter as his first-choice central midfielders, Forshaw has been restricted to just eight league starts this term, even though his performances when he has played have been generally impressive.

He was a key factor in turning the game back in Boro’s favour after he replaced Leadbitter on Tuesday, and will be able to count himself extremely unfortunate if he finds himself back on the bench for Saturday’s game at Bolton.

“It’s been a little bit frustrating at times (not to be playing), but we all want the same things at the end of the season,” he said. “Whoever plays, we’re a squad and we’re a close-knit team that get on really well. We all want promotion, so whether it’s me or wherever playing, we’re all pushing together because we all want the same thing.”