Jonathan Woodgate confident he retains Steve Gibson's support

Woodgate’s position has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of Boro’s drop into the relegation zone, with his side having won just two of their 14 league matches this season. They will travel to Derby County on Saturday looking to end a run of seven games without a victory and three games without a goal.

While there is an inevitable sense of disappointment at the way in which the first three months of the season have unfolded, the Boro hierarchy remain fully committed to both Woodgate’s position as head coach and the wider process of restructuring that accompanied his appointment in the summer.

Gibson, who has established a deserved reputation for backing his managers, is close to his fellow Teessider and has spoken to Woodgate on a number of occasions in the last few weeks to confirm his continued backing.

There is no sense of the former skipper’s job being in jeopardy, and no immediate prospect of a more experienced figure being parachuted in to work alongside him, with all parties sharing an acceptance that it was always going to take time for a new regime to bed in.

“I wouldn’t say I speak to the chairman all the time,” said Woodgate. “But we speak a lot and he is always positive and really, really supportive. That is in terms of the team, the performance, the project, everything, he is really supportive. As I’ve always said, we are in it for the long term, not the short term. And he’s positive.”

That backing is expected to extend to the January transfer window, when Woodgate will look to bring in a mixture of permanent and loan signings to strengthen his squad. Preparations for the turn of the year are already well underway, with Boro’s recruitment team honing in on a number of key targets.

In the meantime, Woodgate is focusing his attention on improving results and performances, with the recent switch to a five-man defensive formation having successfully tightened things up at the back.

Boro have kept successive clean sheets against Huddersfield and Fulham, but Woodgate insists a change of tactics should not be interpreted as a wholesale abandoning of his attacking principles.

His core beliefs remain intact – and are shared by Gibson, Neil Bausor and his fellow coaches – and will continue to shape the way in which Boro look to recruit and develop players in the future.

“This is all for the long term,” said Woodgate. “You can’t change things overnight. It takes time to get to what you want. Okay, we’ve had to change the formation at times, but that doesn’t change the long-term aim.

“It doesn’t change how you want to press, or how you want to play, it just means adjusting a few positions so you look more solid.”

That solidity has come at a cost, with Boro having failed to score in their last three games against West Brom, Huddersfield and Fulham, and the lack of attacking threat in all of those matches has to led to some increased grumbling from the fans.

As a passionate Teessider who lives close to the Riverside Stadium, Woodgate cannot really insulate himself from outside comment, but as someone who does his best to ignore the wailings of social media, he is adamant he will not be swayed by the court of public opinion.

“I don’t concern myself with the opinions of people on social media. No,” he said. “The opinion of the chairman matters. The opinions of my coaches, staff, the players, the people inside the club matter. That’s the biggest thing for me.

“People are going to be negative at times, I know that, but there are a lot of positive people out there too, but they don’t seem to go on social media.

“That doesn’t dent my confidence. I believe in myself, I believe in my players, I believe in the club.
I’m positive. We are all positive.”

Boro’s injury position remains unchanged ahead of their weekend trip to Pride Park, with Darren Randolph and George Friend both expected to return after the international break.

“George is nearly back into training – he’s currently doing the warm-ups at the start of the training sessions,” said Woodgate. “Rudy (Gestede) will probably be another six weeks. Darren is getting there, I’m not sure exactly but you’re probably looking at two to three weeks for him. That’s it.”

Boro will be taking on a Derby side that are going through their own process of transition following the summer departure of Frank Lampard and the appointment of Phillipe Cocu as manager.

Like their weekend opponents, the Rams are also in the bottom half of the table, having won just three of their last 13 games in all competitions.

“Will they be a bit disappointed with where they’re at? Maybe,” said Woodgate. “They’ve had an off-field issue to deal with but they’re a good team.

“They went close last year under Frank Lampard. They’ve made a few changes and brought a few players in. You can’t write the script in the Championship. It’s a unique league and it’ll be a test for us again.”