JONATHAN WOODGATE is confident he will get a positive reaction from his Middlesbrough players when Preston visit the Riverside tomorrow night.

Woodgate suffered the heaviest defeat of his fledgling managerial career when his side crashed to a 4-1 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, and he did not pull any punches as he criticised his players’ performance levels and application in the wake of the game.

Tomorrow’s match with a Preston side that are just two points off the top of the table provides an immediate opportunity to make amends, and Woodgate is confident there will be a marked step up from Saturday’s below-par display.

The Boro head coach said: “The reaction is the biggest thing – it’s going to be huge. It’s how you react when things go wrong. I’m very pleased we play on Tuesday, and hopefully we’ll get the reaction from the players.

“It’s a learning curve, especially for me, and my players as well. I haven’t been in the situation before as a manager where we’ve lost like that. The players have to go out and deliver, and I’m sure they will. They have that desire and pride in them, but they didn’t show it in a great deal (on Saturday). But they’ll be showing it on Tuesday.”

Having cited a lack of desire as an explanation for the defensive lapses that saw Boro concede four goals in the opening 35 minutes at the weekend, Woodgate wants his players to focus on getting the basics right tomorrow.

He said: “I’ve told them constantly what it means to play for this club, they know what it’s like. If you run, graft, win your tackles and headers, football can be really simple. If you get those things right, you win the game.”

Woodgate is likely to make changes tomorrow, with Daniel Ayala, Jonny Howson and Marcus Browne all pushing for a place in the starting line-up after featuring on the bench against Sheffield Wednesday. However, George Friend, Hayden Coulson and Rudy Gestede remain unavailable because of injury.