Feel-good factor has Boro daring to dream once more

IT FEELS like something powerful is happening at Middlesbrough right now - something that significantly boosts Boro's promotion prospects this season.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Boro players celebrate with Sol Brynn after the keeper provided an assist for Morgan Whittaker's goal

Saturday's win over QPR was just the latest positive showing under new boss Kim Hellberg. It’s now four wins in four for the new Boro boss - 11 goals too.

Boro are a side transformed under the Swedish head coach, and any early fears that this might be a difficult transition for the 37-year-old, in his first move outside of his homeland, have been quickly eradicated.

As has been previously discussed, it’s not just the victories that have provided so much optimism, it’s the manner of them. The QPR win was another fine example, with Boro utterly dominant, and highly entertaining as well. It’s liquid football on Teesside.

R's boss Julien Stephan called Boro the best team they've played so far this season - which is some compliment when you consider they were beaten 7-1 by league leaders Coventry City.

The head keeps saying, “don’t get carried away; but it’s increasingly difficult not to. This feels like more than just a newmanager bounce, or a honeymoon period.

Every improvement Boro have made under Hellberg has been deliberate; it has been the product of his meticulous planning and eye for detail. The players have really bought in.

There's another huge factor in the increasing optimism for Boro’s quest to return to the Premier League though - the spirit of their group.

It's hard not to hark back to Boro’s last promotion-winning squad. Speak to any of Aitor Karanka’s 2015-16 team and they'll all reference the power of that dressing room. This current Boro squad feel very similar in that regard. There's a real bond, a real togetherness in that group = genuinely close friends on and off the pitch.