MIDDLESBROUGH defender Nathan Wood is hoping to ignite some Tees-Wear rivalry by helping Crewe Alexandra see off Sunderland on Saturday.

Wood joined Crewe on a season-long loan on transfer-deadline day and helped the Railwaymen keep a clean sheet as they bounced back from a two-game losing run with a win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night.

The 18-year-old centre-half is set to retain his place in the Crewe backline for Saturday’s game with the Black Cats, and as proud Teessider, the Ingleby Barwick-based youngster is hoping to put a dent in Sunderland’s promotion hopes.

“Obviously, with the rivalry with Boro, it would be great to play against Sunderland and get one over them,” said Wood. “I’ve been at Boro since the age of 13 and it is my hometown club.

“To make my debut for the club that I grew up with was amazing. Since I made my debut at 16, I’ve made 11 appearances for Boro over two years and I consider that not a lot, so I wanted to come out and play games in men’s football. I want to take that back to Middlesbrough and push on from there.”

Neil Warnock is an admirer of Wood’s abilities, and strongly encouraged the youngster to drop into League One to aid his footballing development.

Crewe boss David Artell was quick to push through a deal at the start of this month, and has been impressed with Wood’s impact in his short time at Gresty Road.

“Nathan is a terrific lad and has a really bright future in the game,” said Artell. “He is committed, athletic and has picked things up really quickly.

“He spoke to the group (after Tuesday’s game) and was very good. He spoke really well, and it was terrific for a lad of his age to do that.

“He said his bit. He spoke about the real togetherness and spirit of the group, and I’ve been saying that to them all season. They probably don’t always believe me, but I’ve been in the game and now we have a young lad from a Championship club saying the same thing.”