Tony Pulis makes big Middlesbrough claim - it’s bad news for Coventry City | OneFootball

The former Boro boss has dropped a bold claim when it comes to the promotion race

Former Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis has identified a factor in Kim Hellberg's side which could give them an advantage over Coventry City in the race for Premier League football next season.

Boro have been in a rich vein of form of late, responding to a period of four successive Championship outings without a goal at the close of 2025 and the start of 2026 with a run of five straight victories.

As such, the North East side have drawn level on points with the Sky Blues as a result of their tremendous run coinciding with a faltering period for Frank Lampard's previously dominant outfit.

Both clubs are determined to end fairly long periods away from the Premier League, albeit Middlesbrough's exile of nine years away from the elite level of English football pales in comparison when referencing the quarter of-a century-long wait which Coventry and their supporters have endured, which also saw them fall as low as League Two in the last campaign in which we saw the Teesside outfit battling it out against the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.

It is Coventry who currently lead the second tier standings by goal difference alone at present, with the West Midlands side suffering consecutive 2-1 defeats away from home against Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers, whilst Middlesbrough's fifth win on the bounce also came against Philippe Clement's resurgent Canaries on Saturday afternoon.

The Teesside outfit and Coventry also have a four-point advantage over nearest challengers, Hull City, who failed to narrow the gap on the automatic promotion places to just two points in their goalless draw with Watford at the MKM Stadium in midweek.

However, whilst Hellberg has only been at the Riverside Stadium for less than three months, Pulis believes the Swede's side can go all the way and potentially pip the Sky Blues to the Championship title.

Tony Pulis issues bold Middlesbrough FC squad claim - Coventry City supporters won't like it

Pulis, of course, knows exactly what is required to gain promotion from the Championship, having achieved such a feat with Stoke City in 2007/08, which led to a period of 10 unbroken top-flight seasons for the Potters.

The 68-year-old also came close to delivering the same achievement at the Riverside during his 17-month spell, losing in the 2017/18 play-off semi-finals to Aston Villa, before missing out on the top six the following season - which led to his dismissal.

However, seven years later, the Welshman believes that the balance of Hellberg's squad, which has been added to in the transfer window in the form of Adilson Malanda and Jeremy Sarmiento, could give them an advantage over Coventry, with a lack of potential depth also a hot topic of discussion amongst supporters in CV6.

Speaking on 'The Managers' podcast alongside Mick McCarthy, Pulis said: "Middlesbrough are the best 'balanced' team that I've seen (in the Championship).

"I've watched a little bit of them, not as much as I would have liked. But, I've watched a fair bit of the Championship, and Boro seem to have the best balance.

"You (McCarthy) know as well as I do, that balance is so important," he stated. "They look very, very good in possession, but they're very solid out of possession.

"I'd be delighted for Steve (Gibson) and the people up there. It's a fantastic club, and they're lovely people up there.

"We got spoiled when we were there. The North East is fabulous," Pulis added.

"Hopefully they can see it through."

Middlesbrough will hope to continue their rich vein of form as Coventry City falter

As Pulis alluded to, Hellberg has been able to strike a fine balance since he replaced Rob Edwards in November, with the Reds' fine blend of flair and experience serving them well as things stand.

Alongside Hull and Sheffield United, they have accumulated 29 points from the past 15 games, meaning they are brimming with confidence ahead of an intriguing fixture against the Blades at Bramall Lane on Monday night.

By that time, they will know whether Coventry have responded to their recent blows against Oxford United at the CBS Arena, before the current top two go head-to-head in a mouth-watering clash in the Midlands on February 16th.