ALEX Neil says Michael Carrick and Middlesbrough's players deserve a "hell of a lot of credit" for their turnaround this season - and the Stoke City boss thinks Boro have every chance of capping the transformation with promotion.

Neil believes Boro have been the second best team in the division behind Burnley since the World Cup, with Carrick's side moving to within three points of Sheffield United courtesy of their hard fought draw against Stoke City on Tuesday night.

Neil said: "I think Middlesbrough have shown over the last 18 games that apart from Burnley they've been the best team in the league. I don't know how their record matches up with Burnley but for me Burnley have been the stand-out team and Middlesbrough have been very, very good.

"Michael and his staff and players deserve a hell of a lot of credit because it's some turnaround from where they were. Looking at them just now, they've got every chance of being right up there."

Given his praise for Boro, Neil was delighted with his Stoke side's display on Teesside, but left the Riverside slightly disappointed, for he felt if any side deserved to win the game it was the Potters.

"I thought it was a really good game, a really open game," said Neil.

"Obviously Middlesbrough are a good side, we knew that when we came here, but I thought over the piece we had the better chances and we were probably the more, I wouldn't say the more aggressive, but we tried to force the issue and win the game.

"Middlesbrough have big prizes they're playing for, we're obviously trying to show everybody how far we've come in a short space of time and I thought we did that. We were more than a match for them, I thought it was a really good game with two good teams.

If anybody was going to win it, it looked like us."

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Chuba Akpom fired Boro ahead with his 23rd league goal of the season before the impressive Ki-Jana Hoever levelled on the stroke of half-time.

Neil said: "It was basically a shoot-out down that side with Giles going that way for them who is a real threat and Ki-Jana going the other way. It was going to be a case of who damaged who most, and Ki-Jana popped up with the goal for us that was great.

"The only frustration in the first half was when we got into the final third area, instead of working the ball to get a better cross, we just flung things in a bit deep and that's probably where Middlesbrough looked most threatening because they cleared it then were countering on us. That's something we need to be a bit smarter with."

Neil felt his side should have had a penalty in the first half when Aaron Ramsey tackled Josh Laurent in the box.

He said: "I think it was Ramsey who goes to ground unnecessarily. Josh gets his body between the player and the ball. I thought it looked like a penalty. Listen, I'm not jumping up and down about it but I thought it could be."