WHEN Steve Cotterill greeted Middlesbrough’s victory over Birmingham City on Wednesday night by suggesting his side wouldn’t have lost had it not been for Britt Assombalonga, it is the sort of comment Garry Monk has had to get used to on Teesside.

Whether it be from opposition managers, players or even supporters and the media, Monk knows the level of spending Boro got through after he took over led to his team being quickly tipped to win the Championship.

It was never going to be as easy as taking over a new team, filling it with fresh faces and telling them to get out and win every game, though. He had his own style of coaching and tactics to implement on the squad, so it would have been a surprise if it didn’t take a certain degree of time.

Nevertheless, having bolstered Middlesbrough’s attacking options considerably by investing heavily following relegation, Monk knows about the expectations and almost anticipates comments such as those delivered by Cotterill on a regular basis.

Promotion chasing Derby County are next up at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon, when it would be no surprise for Monk to hear someone utter remarks about the calibre of team he can send out or his summer spending.

But Monk said: “Look, everyone has their opinion. The point is that whoever you have on that pitch has to do a job. They have to. I could easily say if they didn’t have that player or that player then they might not have won the game. On Wednesday we were the better team, that’s all I can say. Everyone here is here to do their job and to get better at it. Not just Britt.

“I can’t control any of that (the finances, outside comments). Things will always be said and thrown at it. But because there is a price-tag doesn’t make it any different to what they are.”

It has been well documented that Middlesbrough paid out more than £40m in the summer on changing the face of the squad, although they also brought in a significant lump of money raised in terms of transfer fees.

But Monk, who signed Cyrus Christie from Derby in amongst the close-season deals, has defended Middlesbrough’s transfer policy, claiming the players brought in also represented excellent value because of their age and ability.

He said: “We actually recruited a lot of potential, the future. Yes we want to do things now, but a lot of those guys will also be coming into their prime.

“Yes we spent money, but in this day and age prices are fluctuating and you have to over-pay sometimes for what you feel is a real reasonable price. I think we were smart with our recruitment.

“Yes we recruited for the here and now but we also recruited for the future of the club. We spent money but we spent it smartly. You see a lot of clubs spend money but they spend it for the short term and don’t think about the future as well. We invested but we also invested over the next few years.”

Assombalonga, particularly, has carried on his goalscoring heroics of the last few years by netting 11 times in his 18 appearances – and Monk thinks it’s worth remembering not all strikers can hit the ground running like he has.

“That’s where the price really doesn’t matter,” said the Middlesbrough boss. “It doesn’t matter if a player arrives on a free or not, because at the end of the day there is always an element of risk that things don’t work out.

“How many times do you see that? Were things don’t work out for a player, regardless of the fee. We were always confident in the plan we had going forward that the players we were signing would settle into what we had in mind.

“They are getting better at it too. Britt is one of those. If your environment is correct then you expect the players to hit the heights you have in mind for them. The fight for more is always going to be there and we all want to keep going.”

Assombalonga, a £15m buy from Nottingham Forest, will be leading the line again today against the Rams, level on points with Middlesbrough after winning five of their last seven matches, but Monk will have to change his midfield. Jonny Howson is suspended.

The Middlesbrough manager said: “The players are starting to settle in to their roles, they have new ideas, transformation in the squad. Jonny is a good example of that. He has been one of our best performers in recent matches, of course you want in form players to be available but when someone misses out others have a chance.”

Midfielder Adam Forshaw is likely to receive the nod in the absence of Howson, with Adam Clayton yet to force his way back into the reckoning after being omitted from the match-day squad in recent matches.

Monk said: “It’s a daily thing. Clayts is working hard. Whenever you are out of the team you have to work hard and it is a challenge to get back in. Clayts is working very well, I am sure he will take his chance when it comes along. It’s not just him.

“Even the players in the team have to keep improving, that’s the standards we set here. Every single day we don’t find it acceptable if you fall below that. That goes for every single player. They understand that.

“The players know that. We have a good group here who work hard and the key in between is to find certain responses from different players, and finding out the characters they are and how they deal with all kinds of situations.”