MIDDLESBROUGH manager Chris Wilder admits there is a feeling of ‘regret and disappointment’ about the season having failed to make the Championship play-offs on the final day.

Boro were put to the sword against Preston North End losing 4-1 at Deepdale in a game that was quickly over before it really got started. Preston made it 2-0 within 25 minutes and while Marcus Tavernier handed them a brief lifeline, the game was put the bed through Emil Riis Jakobsen’s brace.

While victories for Sheffield United and Luton Town made the result of Boro’s game irrelevant, there is an element of frustration at the way Boro couldn't do enough to make it into the top six.

Back in November when he was appointed, the club were 14th in the Championship table following a 1-1 draw against West Brom. Having worked to claw their way back up the league table, bad results over the last few weeks have ultimately seen them fall short.

“There will be a few regrets from players because when they put their head on the pillow, if they’ve got anything about them, over the next two or three days” said the reflective Boro boss.

Although the play-offs were inevitably out of reach, he clearly has a lot of admiration for the way they have conducted themselves this season and for their achievements.

Boro took it to the final day of the Championship season and were still in with a shout while they created a memorable run in the FA Cup beating Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. For the Boro boss, he's proud of the way they made something of the season right until the final day.

Following their 4-1 loss, Wilder continued: “It’s quite a difficult one to really get after them for because they are the ones that have really turned the season around.

“There was a reason there was a change in management. It wasn’t because, without sounding arrogant, I was available and I might have gone. The reason was because the season was drifting and the chairman and the chief executive didn’t want to see it drift. And it didn’t off the back of that.

“All of sudden we turned it around, got some results, went on a fabulous cup run and had some fantastic memories of the season but there will be a tinge of regret and disappointment.

“At times, we’ve shown we are a really good side but when push comes to shove and we’ve had to come out of this end of the season after the international break, the three losses on the spin at home have really hurt us.

In simplistic terms, Wilder added: “Maybe if we got a couple of results in there, that we should have done, maybe this (game) would have been irrelevant because we’d have been in but we weren’t because both boxes have not been good enough.

“We’ve not made enough saves and not defended well enough and not been clinical enough at the other end.”

Meanwhile, the club are set to offer captain Jonny Howson a new contract. The 33-year-old’s current deal is due to expire in the summer but the manager hinted that he wants to keep his midfielder for next season.