HAYDEN Hackney still remembers the pain of Middlesbrough's last trip to Wembley and will be fuelled by that disappointment if Boro go on to secure a trip to the national stadium in late May.

For Hackney, though, there'll be a big difference between the 2015 visit and, if Boro make it to the play-off final, the 2023 return.

Eight years ago, Hackney was a young Boro fan in the stands and vividly recalls the heartbreak and the mood in the car as he made his way back to Teesside with his mam and dad after the 2-0 defeat to Norwich City.

This year, if Boro make it to the play-off final, Hackney will be on the pitch as a key member of Michael Carrick's Boro squad.

Who'd have predicted that in the early months of the season? Both that Boro would be in the play-off mix and that Hackney would be a starring figure.

Hackney wasn't in the plans of former boss Chris Wilder but got his chance under interim manager Leo Percovich and Carrick wasted no time in building the team around his young midfielder.

"I really do appreciate that he's giving me the opportunity," said Hackney.

"You always have hope at the start of a new season that the chance will come and you’ll get an opportunity to prove yourself.

"Obviously it did come and I’m just grateful to get that. There wasn’t any chats with him when he first came in, I just remember that first game against Preston, which seems a long while ago now. I was playing and I’ve just stayed in from there really, which I’m really grateful for. I'm just really enjoying my football at the minute."

You can understand why. Hackney grew up watching Carrick win it all as a player. Now he's learning from one of the best English midfielders of his generation.

“I watched him a lot - he was on the TV every week wasn’t he at Man Utd," said the 20-year-old from Redcar, who explained how working on the "little things" have made a big difference to his game.

"He was a great player and I’m grateful to be learning from him. I think it’s more the little things - little movements, for example. He’s taught me, sometimes I don’t need to move that much to get into a bit of space.

"We’ve worked on my body position so I’m set to play forward straight away and getting on the half turn so that my second touch can be a pass forward instead of maybe taking two or three touches when then maybe the opportunity to go forward has gone."

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As a local lad and a lifelong Boro fan, there's no escaping the buzz around the area for Hackney, who is often stopped by supporters who want to talk about the club. Not that it bothers him at all, for he was once of those fans.

“You do get fans stopping you and talking about it. You can’t avoid that, but I was once a fan myself and when I’d see a first-team player I’d stop them and ask for a photo and everything," he laughs.

And memories of his days as a fan in the stands takes him back to 2015.

He says: "I was there at Wembley against Norwich. Obviously Jonny [Howson] was playing for them wasn’t he?

"It was a tough result that to take, and I remember driving home with my mam and dad and we were all just so disappointed. It was good to be there though, and hopefully this year, if we get there, we can put it right!"