GARRY MONK has rubbished any suggestion Danish striker Martin Braithwaite took a bigger risk by moving to the Championship last summer – one full season before he hopes to appear in a World Cup finals.

Braithwaite became a big hit in the French league during his four years with Toulouse and he had plenty of clubs interested in signing him, including from the Premier League.

But Middlesbrough’s ambition and willingness to get the £9m deal over the line saw him move to the Riverside, where he is expected to start against Cardiff City this afternoon.

The switch to the second tier of English football could be perceived to be a gamble during World Cup year, having seen Ben Gibson’s chances of appearing for England in Russia take a hit by dropping out of the Premier League.

But figures revealed earlier this year suggest the Championship is the third most popular league in Europe by attendance, ahead of La Liga and Serie A and behind only the Premier League and Bundesliga.

Monk thinks Braithwaite, after returning from injury by scoring two goals in two starts, is convinced his Danish front-man can force his way back into the international mix by shining for Middlesbrough this season.

The Middlesbrough boss said: “The Championship is one of the most watched leagues in the world, it’s probably watched more than some of the biggest leagues in Europe.

“I don’t see it as a step down for him coming here like that. I think he has a good opportunity to have a good season and put himself firmly in the frame for the World Cup.

“I know they have an important qualifier coming up, but his job now is to focus with Middlesbrough. You have to play to your highest level. It’s been good to see him back and see him at the strength he is.”

Braithwaite will look to earn himself a spot in the Denmark squad for the World Cup play-off double header with Ireland will take place between November 9-14, having been left out of the recent qualifiers with Romania and Montenegro.

But if he continues to show the sort of form he has since recovering from a hamstring problem sustained early in his Middlesbrough career then he should be able to do just that.

Monk said: “Martin has come back fit and strong. The period he has had out has given him a chance to look at the league and what is required here. He has come back in very well. He is an important player, but we are still looking for more players to step up. Hopefully more to come.

“We have a good group, an intelligent bunch who look at the games and try to understand what we are looking to do. It’s good to use the injury period to gain a better understanding of what is required in the league.”

Braithwaite’s two goals in his first two starts since finding fitness again have helped Middlesbrough to back-to-back points against Brentford and Barnsley. The two-point tally from those games should have been greater had it not been for sloppy goals.

A failure to keep a clean sheet in any of the last five matches has contributed to the seven-point gap which exists between Middlesbrough and second-placed Cardiff ahead of today’s meeting. Monk is not concerned at this stage, but admits the defensive lapses can’t continue.

He said: “We need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes. They are small errors. The problem is they are all being punished. It’s highly unlikely they will continue like that but we have to make sure we improve on what we are doing too.

“It’s more frustrating than anything else. We are frustrated because had those small errors not taken place then we would be much higher.

“We know it is impossible to go through games and not make errors, every team makes errors, but the errors we have made have been heavily punished. That makes it all the more frustrating in that sense.

“We are trying to lessen those situations and the amount of errors. We know if we do that then we know what we are capable of offensively, which we showed at Barnsley last weekend again.

“We dominated them, with 70 per cent and used it very well, got forward and created enough chances to win the game had we been more clinical. You don’t want to hide those errors though, we are honest with those. I am confident because of the way these players react, we are concentrating on the big things we have done.”

Monk also knows Cardiff, under the guidance of the experienced Neil Warnock, are not up in the automatic promotion spots after 12 matches by fluke. He knows they will be dangerous at the Riverside and organised.

He said: “I understand how competitive this league is and Neil has a very capable squad of doing well in this league. I knew that before the ball had been kicked. I know what a Neil Warnock side will bring. It’s a good challenge for us to show what we are capable of in front of our own fans.

“Cardiff have the firepower, just because we spent more doesn’t mean we have stronger firepower. We do have more options in the final third but they have a more than capable squad in this league and I am not surprised with how they do.

“We will have to be focused. If we do that and we do it to the level we are capable of then we will be able to put ourselves in the best position we can to win this game. We are ready for the challenge ahead.”