HIS Middlesbrough players are already flying high in the Championship table, but Tony Pulis is hoping an RAF boot camp during the forthcoming international break will help lift them to even loftier climes in the remainder of the campaign.

Boro regained an automatic promotion position at the weekend as two first-half goals from summer signing Jordan Hugill secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic.

With a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Burton Albion looming on the horizon, Boro are in fine shape as they head into the final international window of the year, but Pulis will not be allowing his players to rest on their laurels.

Around eight players will head off on international duty this week, but the remainder of the Boro squad will head to RAF Leeming for a two-day training camp that will take them out of their footballing comfort zone.

“We’re taking the lads for a couple of days,” said Pulis, whose side return to action with a televised game at Brentford on November 24. “I’ve just broken the news to the lads, told them we’ll be in a five-star hotel!

“No, they’ll enjoy that. We’ve asked the RAF – and a lot of them are actually Boro supporters – to look after them for a couple of days, and I’m sure they will.

“It’s a change for them. It’s different, and it brings them out of this bubble they live in. And sometimes, that’s pretty rewarding.”

Pulis’ pre-season boot camps in Austria are famed for the physical demands they place on players, and this week’s RAF break is likely to be every bit as challenging.

At least the Boro squad will be heading to their air-force base in an upbeat mood, with Hugill’s double having enabled them to leapfrog a Leeds United side that were thrashed at West Brom.

The Boro-born striker had failed to score in his ten previous Championship appearances for his hometown club, and while Pulis had been happy with the quality of his all-round play, he admitted in the build-up to the game that his lack of goals had become an issue.

Hopefully, that has been resolved now, with Hugill opening his account from the penalty spot before rifling in a close-range half-volley on the stroke of half-time.

West Ham shelled out £10m to take the 26-year-old to the Premier League in January, and while the move to the London Stadium did not pan out as planned, Pulis remains convinced Hugill has all the attributes needed to succeed at the very highest level.

“I was really pleased that Jordan got the two goals,” said the Boro boss. “What people have missed, and I’ve said it before, is that the lad went from Preston to West Ham and was never involved in any football at all in the Premier League.

“Then in pre-season, he got an injury, so he hasn’t really done anything for six months. He came here really cold, his fitness levels were nowhere near those of the rest of the group.

“But he’s worked really hard and in the last few games, we’ve seen some good signs. The players are delighted for him because he’s such a good lad around the place. He works so hard, and he’s got his qualities.”

Pulis is picking Hugill ahead of both Britt Assombalonga and Rudy Gestede, and expects his performances to improve now he has broken his Championship goalscoring duck.

“I don’t think this will do him any harm at all,” he added. “Getting the two goals can only help, and to be fair to him, he didn’t want anyone else to take that penalty. He was really keen to take it, which is brilliant.

“He’s missed a few chances, but that’s forwards. He keeps getting in there, he had two headers today he could maybe have scored with, and should have hit the target at least. But he keeps going. The great thing about him is that he’s got that little bit of steel about him. He’s a local lad, and he’s desperate to do well for this football club.”

Boro’s win ended a run of four home league games without a victory, and means they have still only suffered two defeats all season.

They trail Championship leaders Norwich City, who scored two stoppage-time goals to stage a remarkable recovery against Millwall, by two points, but remain extremely well-placed with more than a third of the season now played.

“To be where we are in the league, and be through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, with an opportunity to get through to the semi-finals of one of the major cup competitions in this country, you’ve got to give so much credit to the players,” said Pulis. “It’s good times. Hopefully, everybody will enjoy it when it’s going the right way.”