With three games left, Middlesbrough’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs are now slim.

With three games remaining, Jonny Howson has given Middlesbrough the goal of finishing the season undefeated. He has also outlined a clear plan of action for the team, even though their chances of making the playoffs appear to be virtually gone at Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Boro’s remarkable unbeaten run reached nine games on Saturday after a hard-fought draw at league leaders Ipswich Town, providing significant cause for hope for the next campaign. Even yet, the draw did take Boro eight points off of the top six with nine games remaining, knowing that at this time, wins were all that mattered.

Since Boro won’t play again until Monday night against Leeds United at the Riverside in a match selected for live broadcast on Sky Sports, their chances of qualifying for the play-offs may already be lost by the time they play again. On Saturday, Norwich City defeated Bristol City at home, guaranteeing Boro’s fate of spending an eighth season in the second division.

Although it may appear that there isn’t much left to play for, captain Howson is adamant that he won’t be giving up in the next three games, which begin against his old team Leeds, and he is sure his teammates will feel the same way.

“Our objective was to secure victory in the match,” Howson stated to BBC Tees following the Ipswich draw. “Since both teams will undoubtedly claim that they might have won, a draw may be a just outcome in the end, and we feel like we could have done better. We believe we have given it our all.

We managed to continue our winning streak, and we intend to do so until the conclusion of the current campaign. Although we are proud of it, we still aim to end the season as strongly as possible. You should always show up and perform, whether you’re a team or an individual, because the audience pays to see us put on a show and see us work hard.

“I have no intention of changing it, and I have a good feeling the other boys will too. We hope to win three points in Leeds, which will be an important game. You still want to play these kinds of games. There will be a fantastic vibe, I’m sure.

It’s clear that they have their own goals. We don’t want to simply discard these last three games, in our opinion. We aim to finish them off as best we can to maintain our winning streak. Then, perhaps, we can continue that into the upcoming season.

Similar opinions were voiced by head coach Michael Carrick following the match at Portman Road. Carrick’s primary consideration at the time was wanting to finish the season as strong as possible, despite requests for more forward-thinking tactics to be implemented by giving young players opportunity in the final three games.

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