It has been an indifferent first half of the season for Middlesbrough, with just seven wins from their 23 Championship matches leaving them in 15th position in the table.
Tony Mowbray departed as head coach in November, with former Real Madrid defender Aitor Karanka taking charge at the Riverside.
It has been a mixed bag since then, but three consecutive wins in the league have fuelled suggestions that a late playoff push could be on the cards.
Here, Sports Mole dissects how Middlesbrough have fared in the first half of the 2013-14 campaign.
August
There was summer business at the Riverside with Jacob Butterfield, Albert Adomah and Dean Whitehead among those joining for the new season, while Scott McDonald, Nicky Bailey, Stephen McManus and Kieron Dyer were all allowed to depart.
Their league campaign began in disappointment as they were beaten 2-1 by Leicester City on the opening weekend, before they were knocked out of the League Cup by Accrington Stanley.
Three points did arrive against Charlton Athletic on August 10, before they enjoyed an unbeaten end to the month with draws against Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday.
Just the one win in the league, but there was plenty to be positive about for head coach Mowbray, who had targeted a playoff push at the start of the season.
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September
September, however, proved to be a disastrous month for the former Premier League side. They lost 3-1 to Ipswich Town after the international break, before picking up back-to-back draws against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth to leave them with just the one win in mid-September.
More disappointment was to follow at the end of the month as they lost 2-0 to promotion favourites Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. At the end of September, Boro sat in 18th position in the table, with the pressure already building on Mowbray.
There were positives, however, with summer signing Adomah impressing in attack, while Whitehead had brought Premier League experience to the middle of the park.
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October
October began with a 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield Town, before they finally picked up their second league win of the season with a 4-1 success over Yeovil Town.
A 3-2 defeat at Barnsley followed, which proved to be Mowbray's final game in charge. On October 21, it was announced that the 50-year-old had departed the club with immediate effect and the search for his successor was now on.
However, Middlesbrough responded with a 4-0 win over Doncaster Rovers to end the month. As it stood, they had won three of their 13 league fixtures, drawing six and losing four times. Hardly disastrous, but they were still some way from their desired goal at the start of the season.
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November
November started with a 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, before they picked up a 2-2 home draw with Watford. There was good news on the managerial front, however, with Karanka appointed as the new head coach on November 13.
Karanka's first match in charge, which was 10 days later due to the international break, ended in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United, but there was good news on the transfer front as experienced goalkeeper Shay Given joined on loan from Aston Villa.
Boro ended the month in a positive fashion after recording a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Given's debut. At the end of November, they sat in 15th position in the table – seven points off the relegation zone.
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December
December started with a 2-1 defeat at high-flying Derby County, before they picked up a 2-2 draw on the road to Birmingham City. Another defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion followed, but their best run of the season was just around the corner.
It took some time for Karanka to tweak a few things at the club, but the results have come in recent weeks. Over the Christmas period, Boro enjoyed three wins as they took maximum points against Millwall, Burnley and Reading.
More good news was on the horizon as they extended the loan stay of former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Given. The experienced stopper has played seven times for the Teessiders since making his debut last month and kept four clean sheets in the process.
They remain in 15th position in the table, but are now 10 points off the bottom of the table and just six points from the playoffs. They have lost just twice at home in the league all season, but their away form could be their Achilles heel with just two victories.
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Matt Law
