DANIEL AYALA thinks that Middlesbrough’s away support can help keep the promotion push on track as Aitor Karanka’s men enter the New Year.

Boro’s attendances at the Riverside Stadium are showing signs of improvement after an impressive start to the season which has turned them in to serious contenders for a return to the Premier League.

But the club’s travelling support has taken on new levels during a run which has seen Karanka’s team climb up into contention for an automatic promotion spot.

As well as the near 1,000-strong following which will make its way to Suffolk to watch Saturday’s game at Ipswich, it has emerged there will be no further allocation available for Middlesbrough fans for the trip to Blackburn on December 28.

Boro have sold just under 7,000 for the post-Christmas fixture at Ewood Park and the efforts of the supporters have not gone unnoticed by the club’s players. Boro have been backed by 5,000 at Wigan, 3,500 at Huddersfield and 2,700 at Rotherham.

Ayala said: “Of course it helps. When you see that, you think, ‘It is not cheap to go all that way, especially once you add up the price of the ticket and the cost of the petrol for the car’. It’s not cheap, so to have that support is brilliant. When you see that, you try to do even better.

“When we came out at Wigan, I thought ‘Wow’. It looked like we had even more supporters there than the Wigan fans. It was unbelievable. That really surprised me because normally you see a lot of home fans, and then you see just see a few away fans. At Wigan, it was a big surprise and hopefully they will continue coming.”

While the numbers travelling to watch Boro's charge up the Championship have been impressive, lots of empty seats remain for home games.

Last Saturday, despite the fact victory over Derby took them to the top of the Championship, albeit briefly, less than 18,000 were inside the Riverside to watch the top of the table match.

And Ayala hopes more good results will lead to increased numbers through the gates.

He said: “It will be brilliant to have nearly 7,000 at Blackburn. There were a lot more home fans for the game against Bournemouth and that is what we want to see. That means we are doing well, and hopefully we can continue doing well and start to get even more people.”

Rhys Williams could be available by the time the Blackburn fixture comes around.

The Australian defender, who has been training with the first team squad, came through his first competitive game in 11 months on Monday night when he played 66 minutes for the Under-21s in a goalless draw with Aston Villa.

Williams, whose hopes of appearing in last summer’s World Cup were crushed, has not figured since the rupturing an Achilles on January 28 against Wigan.

Barnsley last night beat Chester 3-0 in the FA Cup, which means Boro travel to Oakwell on January 3.