Hellberg set to be named as boss just in time as lack of a cutting edge costs the Boro once again

KIM Hellberg is expected to be appointed as Middlesbrough's new head coach ahead of the Coventry City game.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Match action from the Oxford game as there was plenty of head scratching and questions being asked

It’s expected that he'll be at the Riverside tomorrow evening for the first-vs-second Championship clash, though it will once again be Adi Viveash taking the Boro team for the game due to limited time for Hellberg to work with his new squad. That's the current plan provided Boro get the final administrative details over the line in time.

With that in mind, you can be sure that the highly-rated young Swedish coach was somewhere watching on closely as Boro were forced to settle for a frustrating draw at Oxford United on Saturday. In many ways though, it was the perfect match for Hellberg to watch, because it encapsulated exactly what he is inheriting on Teesside.

It's true that the 37-year-old could hardly wish for a better opportunity as he makes his first step outside of his native Sweden and into the English Championship. He arrives with Boro sitting second in the league and now has an excellent platform from which to build on to try and get Boro back to the Premier League. He saw firsthand his side’s fighting spirit.

However, the draw against Oxford highlighted a big issue which has cost Boro many a point of late, and has allowed Coventry to open up a seven-point gap at the top of the league, ahead of their Riverside visit tomorrow evening.

It's great that Boro still sit second, which is largely thanks to their ability to grind out results in recent weeks. While still having only two defeats on their slate this term, perhaps more concerningly, they've won only three of their last ten games.

And the reason for that is clear and was evident again at Oxford. Attack. In all but three of the last ten games, Boro have enjoyed more of the ball than the opposition.