GARRY MONK has warned his Middlesbrough players not to underestimate Sunderland’s capabilities ahead of Sunday’s Tees-Wear derby despite the Black Cats’ chaotic condition.

Whereas Boro will head into the opening derby of the season on the back of two successive away wins, Sunderland have not recorded a Championship victory since August.

To make matters worse, they are without a permanent manager after Simon Grayson was dismissed in the wake of Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Bolton Wanderers, and will be led by caretaker duo Robbie Stockdale and Billy McKinlay as they look to haul themselves away from the bottom three.

The form book points to a comfortable Boro win, but having experienced plenty of Welsh derbies during his time with Swansea City, Monk is only too aware of how volatile local skirmishes can be.

Sunderland might be in a state of considerable turmoil, but Monk expects them to provide unpredictable opposition with regional pride on the line.

“We have to ignore all of that (Sunderland’s current struggles,” said the Boro boss. “It’s a derby game, and it doesn’t matter what a team is like going into it, or what the form is, they can often be one-off games and we have to treat it like that.

“We have to be focused on ourselves, and that’s what we’ll be trying to do. We know that if we can get our performance levels close to where we want them to be, we’ll be in a situation where we can win games no matter who we’re playing against. That’ll be our attitude going into this game, that’s for sure.”

Boro’s last outing at the Riverside saw them booed off the field in the wake of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City.

Back-to-back wins at Reading and Hull City have altered the mood, although it remains too early to talk of a corner being turned.

Monk was delighted with his side’s performance at the KCOM Stadium three days ago, and has been pleased with his players’ response to his urgings on the training ground.

A convincing win on Sunday would provide further evidence of genuine progress, and would set the Teessiders up nicely ahead of the forthcoming international break.

“We’ve taken a step forward, but it’s only been two games,” said Monk. “In this recent period, the balance hasn’t quite been right, but we’ve worked through that.

“We’ve worked hard and we’ve stuck together, and albeit that it’s only been two games, I think we’ve seen a big step forward. What we have to do now is maintain that and continue it.

“With the fight and desire we have, and the commitment everyone has for what we’re doing, I’m sure we can keep moving forward. I’m hopeful and confident we can carry that on, especially in this next game, which is massive for us. Then, we can do some more good work in the international break.”

Away from the North-East, Middlesbrough striker Harry Chapman faces a two-month injury lay-off after damaging his hamstrings during his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers.

The striker requires surgery to repair the damage, and is set to be sidelined until the start of the New Year, with Middlesbrough’s medical staff heavily involved in his recovery programme.

Meanwhile, Boro centre-half Dael Fry has been named in the England Under-21 squad for this month’s European Championships qualifier with Ukraine.