No way back at Middlesbrough? Kim Hellberg reveals brutal Sontje Hansen situation | OneFootball

Kim Hellberg has explained why Sontje Hansen has struggled to get game time at Middlesbrough since his arrival in the dugout.

Middlesbrough have work to do on Tuesday evening as they face relegation-threatened Leicester City in the Championship at the Riverside Stadium, with Kim Hellberg's side looking to get back to winning ways after a difficult week.

Boro have picked up just one point in their last two games, with their incredibly disappointing defeat to league leaders Coventry City preceding a really poor goalless draw at home to Oxford United on Saturday that has seen the Teessiders lose ground in the title battle.

While they still have a six-point gap to Millwall, who sit in third, Hellberg will be keen to maintain that advantage over their promotion rivals with a victory against a Foxes side who find themselves stuck in the relegation zone after a six-point deduction.

It's a vital game for Middlesbrough, especially with Coventry not playing until Wednesday, and they will be more than up for the challenge ahead of them. However, Sontje Hansen looks likely to miss out once again, and now the reasoning behind his absence has been revealed.

Kim Hellberg explains why Sontje Hansen has not been playing for Middlesbrough

Since Hellberg arrived at the Riverside in November, Hansen has played just three times, including in the Boro boss' first game in charge - a 2-1 home victory over Derby County. However, this has been his only start and there may be questions as to why he has not been featuring.

Now, the Swedish manager has explained the reason as to why the winger has been struggling for minutes. He said (via: Northern Echo): ""There are other players that are better. It’s as simple as that. It always comes down to those things.

"I'm trying to put out the best ones and those who give us the bigger chance to win the game. That’s what I go on and that is the answer to everyone who is not playing, that I think there are players that are better, for the moment."

Hellberg has told the Curacao international how to work his way back into his plans: "Develop, keep working, take steps. [It's the] same thing as everyone. It's the same for everyone. It's always about reacting to what we are doing on the training pitch, show me that you are better, show me that you are developing.

"That’s the thing, there's no other way of getting into the team. It almost always comes down to that. If they are not playing, I maybe think there are players that are better."

Sontje Hansen has World Cup ambitions and he needs minutes at Middlesbrough

Since moving to Middlesbrough from Dutch outfit NEC Nijmegen, Hansen has found it tough to find consistency, and he has played just 13 games in the Championship, scoring only one goal.

He played significantly more minutes under Rob Edwards, but since his departure to Wolverhampton Wanderers, he has found it tough to impress Hellberg and this has come at the wrong time as he fights for his place in Curacao's World Cup team.

It is the first time that the nation has ever qualified for the tournament, and with three caps and a goal to his name, he will be hoping to impress the international selectors for this year's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Nonetheless, it seems unlikely at this time that he is going to win Hellberg over and the 23-year-old must work harder in training to impress the Middlesbrough boss.