THE latest international break has been labelled by fans and pundits as a period of time that could make or break Middlesbrough's season. Now it's time to answer those questions with struggling Peterborough United visiting the Riverside Stadium this afternoon.

Boro's hot and cold season has seen pick up just three wins from their first 11 games of the season. They entered the two weeks period off the back of an unlucky defeat to Hull City.

Their misfortunes continued to mount of over the international break as their injury crisis deepened.

Dael Fry, Grant Hall, Anferee Dijksteel and Marc Bola are all out injured for the game tomorrow with Fry and Hall set to spend a number of weeks on the sidelines.

Lee Peltier is suspended for the game leaving Sol Bamba as their only available senior defender.

Despite the chips being down, manager Neil Warnock is defiant his players will battle in adversity.

Warnock said: “The lads will give everything. They’ve really had a good two weeks training but it will be difficult for one or two lads. That’s such things in life you’ve got to do and this week is going to be a tough week for us.

“We’ve just got to ahead and give it our best show and I’m convinced they will do.

“I think everybody gives everything in the league if I’m honest. Whether you’re top or bottom.

“I just think at the end of the day, if you can’t score chances like we had at Hull, then you’re not going to win a game are you? If you have the bad luck when it hits the goalie on the back of the head, then you’re not going to win games so we’ve got to turn our luck and take our chances.

“If we take our chances then the other teams won’t have to rely on a good piece of luck. We’d rely on our ability then.

“I think they’ve been good everybody, I can’t knock them really. Even at Hull, I thought they were good. The one good thing is at least the fans aren’t going to get injured.

“We’ve got to try and give them the best we can and they’ve got to try and lift the lads. I’m not on about when we are on top, I’m on about when we are under the cosh and we need a bit of help.

“That’s when they’ve got to get behind us and I’m sure they will do.”

A number of fans have been disgruntled at the results with some sections of Boro's away support calling for his head during the game against Hull City. But Warnock says the comes with the territory of being a manager.

He added: “I think the fans have been brilliant. I know there’s been talk about that minority at Hull, but you always get that.

“There are always some that think we should be top of the league and don’t know the ins and outs of the club and what restrictions we’ve got etc.

“But I know wherever I go up here the majority of people I speak to are disappointed like me.

“They’re pleased with what we’re doing and I think they’ll really get behind us tomorrow.

“I think they’ll see the team we put out and really put a shift in for us tomorrow the fans.

With a number of absentees, Boro have been working in training sessions with players on being out of position for the game at the Riverside Stadium.

“We’ve got to just go out and do our best to give ourselves the best opportunity.

“Some players will obviously be playing out of position and they’re going to have to do a job.

“It will be a breath of fresh air in some respects because we don’t know how some of them will perform and it will be interesting.”