Pundit hands Rob Edwards clear Middlesbrough warning - it could affect promotion chances | OneFootball

Middlesbrough have scored 12 goals from their opening nine league games

Adrian Clarke has warned that Middlesbrough won’t be able to contend for promotion this season unless Rob Edwards discovers his best attacking options.

The Teesside outfit have made a strong start to the new campaign, with the team sitting second in the table after the opening nine fixtures.

However, Boro have failed to win any of their last three fixtures, losing to Portsmouth and drawing with Southampton and Stoke City.

Middlesbrough have scored 12 goals so far this term, the eighth most of any side in the division and less than half that of league leaders Coventry City.

Edwards previously led Luton Town to Premier League promotion, but Boro have not been in the top flight since 2017.

Middlesbrough warned about key weakness in their promotion push

Clarke has praised the backline and midfield setup in Edwards’ side, claiming it sets itself, but has warned Middlesbrough that the chopping and changing of the frontline indicates an uncertainty over who the best options are at the moment.

He believes that this will cost the club in their goal to fight for promotion this season, and that the sooner they strike the right balance the better for their chances of a top two or top six finish.

“Those eight [behind the attack] sorted, it’s what he does at the front,” said Clarke, via the What the EFL?! podcast.

“And if you look at the team selections from Rob Edwards, it’s a different configuration most weeks.

“He’s absolutely searching for it.

“He’s got a number of new players in there, Strelec and Sene, and they’ve got Conway and Whittaker, there’s loads of different ones and he’s not quite sure what the best combo is.

“And until they hit on it, they’re just not going to score enough goals, for me, to stay at the top end.”

Middlesbrough are second in the Championship table ahead of the league’s return to action this weekend.

Boro went into the international break off the back of a 1-0 loss to Pompey, which saw them fall from their place at the top of the standings.

A record of 18 points from a possible 27 has seen them remain in the automatic promotion places, but third place Leicester City are just two behind.

Next up for the Teesside outfit is a home clash against Ipswich Town on Friday night in an 8pm kick-off at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough’s attack is a glaring weakness

Coventry have scored 27 goals from an expected goals (xG) of 22.7, making them the class of the field in the Championship, even with a bit of over-performance from nine games.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough have scored only 12 goals and from an even smaller xG of 8.6, indicating they’re not creative enough in the final third.

New players coming in like David Strelec and Kaly Sene both will need time to adjust to life at the Riverside, and they may yet prove excellent additions.

But their performances haven’t quite been good enough yet, and Conway has yet to show that he can score consistently at the level of a top Championship striker, so this is the big issue Edwards must figure out for Boro’s promotion chances.