SOMETIMES, the most innocuous of comments can become the most damning of indictments. When Cardiff boss Steve Morison discussed his side’s tactics in Tuesday’s 3-2 win at the Riverside, his primary intention was to outline his own team’s approach. Within the space of a couple of sentences, though, he also delivered a withering assessment of where Middlesbrough currently find themselves nine games into the season.

“We dominated the game without the ball, which is what we wanted to do,” said Morison. “We knew that when Middlesbrough have more of the ball, they tend to not win as many games. The two games they’ve won (against Swansea and Sunderland), they’ve not dominated the ball. We knew we weren’t going to dominate the ball, and we didn’t want to do that. There were times where we were happy to let Middlesbrough have possession.”

So, to paraphrase, Cardiff’s game plan was effectively, ‘Give Middlesbrough the ball, let them do nothing with it, then nip in to steal it and score’. The fact it worked three times before half-time certainly suggests there are chronic weaknesses within the Teessiders’ set-up that need addressing.

Chris Wilder shouldered responsibility for Boro’s first-half capitulation after the game – “any criticism of the team gets aimed at me, I totally understand that” – and acknowledged that the collapse was “a bigger issue than just 45 minutes of football”.

The statistics certainly support that view, both in terms of the number of times Boro have conceded a clutch of goals in a condensed period during Wilder’s reign – they shipped three goals in 25 first-half minutes at QPR earlier this season and conceded three goals in 29 minutes either side of half-time at Preston on the final day of last term – and in terms of the results in the last seven months.

Since beating West Brom at the Riverside in late February, Boro have won just eight of their last 26 matches in all competitions. They have won seven of their last 23 in the league, an average of less than one win every three games, and a run of form that would have left them at serious risk of relegation had it occurred in a single season rather than being spread across two campaigns.

As it is, Boro still head into Saturday’s home game with Rotherham United in the bottom four places in the table, hardly the scenario that was envisaged when the season began with most bookmakers touting the Teessiders amongst the favourites to win promotion.

Wilder might question whether the level of expectation around Middlesbrough reflects the overall quality of the squad, but the reality is this is a club that only missed out on the play-offs by one position last season and have finished in the top ten in four of the five campaigns since they dropped out of the Premier League. No matter where your benchmark lies, it is surely impossible to dispute that they should be doing much better than they are.

So, what has been going wrong? Wilder spent a significant chunk of his post-match press conference on Tuesday rebuffing the notion that his tactics are a factor in Boro’s decline, but while his predecessor, Neil Warnock, also played with three at the back, the current Boro boss makes very specific demands of his centre-halves.

Paddy McNair, in particular, does not look especially comfortable as an overlapping centre-half, while Matt Clarke was found wanting on a number of occasions against Cardiff. At the other end of the field, Riley McGree might have impressed as a ‘number ten’ against Sunderland, but there have been a number of other games where he has looked ill-suited to the role and left Boro’s central striker extremely isolated as a result. Against Rotherham at the weekend, two up top is surely the way to go.

Who should partner Rodrigo Muniz is a pertinent question, highlighting the recruitment issues that continue to bedevil Middlesbrough no matter who is in the dugout. Warnock’s relationship with those around him ultimately broke down because the power lines became blurred, and the same problems have been apparent this summer.

Darragh Lenihan was certainly a Wilder signing, but was Matthew Hoppe? The manager’s comments to this point suggest not. For the second summer in a row, it has not been easy to discern who is responsible for what when it comes to recruitment. What is Kieran Scott’s role as head of football? How much sway does Neil Bausor continue to hold? It is rarely a recipe for success when too many cooks are spoiling the broth.

It remains early days for Boro’s summer signings, but in defence in particular, the arrival of Lenihan and Clarke has disrupted a backline that was functioning pretty well under Warnock. It is hard to say the alterations in the last year or so have improved the side defensively, in fact, the statistics in terms of goals conceded suggest the opposite.

Does that mean Wilder’s position is under threat. The stark reality is that with Boro sitting in 21st position in the table, it has to be. Saturday’s game with Rotherham is not quite win or bust, but with the international break looming, Wilder will find himself in an extremely awkward position if things do not go to plan.

Steve Gibson has a long-established reputation for backing his managers, but he is also prepared to act decisively when required. Gareth Southgate, Gordon Strachan, Tony Mowbray and Warnock were all dismissed in either October or early November, giving their successor sufficient time to have a realistic chance of turning things around. We are not at that stage yet with Wilder, but with a fifth of the season gone, things will have to start improving soon if this is not be a wasted campaign.