TONY PULIS bemoaned his side’s lack of a cutting edge despite last night’s goalless draw with Rotherham United keeping Middlesbrough at the top of the Championship table.

Boro failed to score for the third home game running as they were unable to break down a Rotherham side who were picking up their first away point of the season, but Sheffield United’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City means the Teessiders remain in top spot on goal difference.

They will drop down to second if West Brom beat Derby County this evening though, and while Boro hardly carved out a plethora of chances last night, Pulis felt they created more than enough openings to have fashioned a breakthrough.

Martin Braithwaite directed a tame chip at Rotherham goalkeeper Marek Rodak when he was clean through in the first half, and Brit Assombalonga wasted a couple of decent openings in the second period, and Pulis accepts his side’s failure to convert opportunities is becoming costly.

“Again, we’ve had enough opportunities and chances,” said the Boro boss. “We talked about it before the game, but we needed to score a goal. We got chances nice and early on, but you need to take those chances.

“We’ve had a couple of clear-cut chances that, at this level, you have to take. If you take the chances, then it’s a completely different game. They’ve (Rotherham) done smashing. They’ve come here and sat in behind the ball, and they used their big striker well. But we have to break things down. When we get our opportunities and chances, we have to make sure we take them. That’s what we didn’t do again tonight.”

Decrying missed opportunities has been a persistent theme throughout Pulis’ Riverside reign, and the Boro boss admits he has been frustrated at his side’s lack of success in the final third on far too many occasions.

As well as boasting Assombalonga, who is Boro’s club-record signing at £15m, Pulis can also call on Rudy Gestede, Jordan Hugill and Braithwaite, but it does not appear as though he is particularly satisfied with any of his forwards.

“It’s been the same since I came into the football club,” he said. “I can remember playing exceptionally well in the first four or five games, but not taking the opportunities. I’ll never forget the Fulham game where we got beat 1-0 with a last-minute penalty and missed chance after chance after chance. We’ve got to be sharper in the final third.

“Martin’s missed the best chance here, and he’s one of the players you want to bring in. We’ve been really positive, we’ve played an attacking team. But you need those players to take the opportunities.

“If Martin goes round the goalkeeper, he taps it in, but that’s the way it goes. When we get the opportunities we need to take them, and when we get in positions where we can play people in we have to do it. It’s big decisions during games we need to improve on.”

Despite Boro remaining at the top of the table, Pulis’ players were booed off at the final whistle, and while he was more satisfied with his side’s efforts, the Boro boss could understand the supporters’ frustrations.

“They pay their money,” he said. “I was disappointed at the end of the game. I wasn’t disappointed with the effort and commitment the lads put in, it’s just that final third, whether it’s crossing to make a good opportunity or taking a chance when it comes.”

Rotherham boss Paul Warne was understandably delighted with his players’ defensive efforts, although when he was asked to compare Boro’s promotion credentials with the teams around them in the top half of the table, he inadvertently delivered a somewhat damning assessment of the Teessiders’ style of play.

“I think, with the way they play, Boro are a better version of us,” said Warne. “They want to get the ball wide, we try to, we didn't much tonight but hopefully it will be a different game at our place. But they try get crosses in the box, they rely on set-pieces, they try to move the ball quickly.

“Brentford and Leeds have a lot more midfield rotation and a lot of people coming off the line. Middlesbrough want to put crosses in the box and make you defend, tonight we definitely did. Every team has their strengths, and Middlesbrough are top of the league and in a good place.”