Tommy Conway fires cheeky Southampton 'Spygate' dig in Kim Hellberg's Middlesbrough presser | OneFootball

Tommy Conway made a 'Spygate' reference ahead of Kim Hellberg's press conference for Middlesbrough's second leg at Southampton in the play-offs.

Middlesbrough take on Southampton in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at St. Mary’s on Tuesday after the sides played out a goalless draw on Saturday.

Whilst it was an entertaining clash, even without a goal, the fixture was dominated by off-field events, after Southampton were accused of spying on Boro ahead of the game.

The EFL have charged Saints with misconduct as an independent disciplinary commission will decide what punishment is necessary, with the revelation making waves throughout the EFL sphere in recent days.

Tommy Conway makes Spygate reference as Middlesbrough vs Southampton fallout continues

Naturally, Boro were furious when they found someone watching their training session prior to the crucial game, although it didn’t appear to impact them, as they produced a remarkably dominant first half performance.

It has once again been the major talking point in the build-up to the second leg, and Boro forward Tommy Conway made his own reference to the incident ahead of Hellberg’s press conference.

That’s after reporter Craig Hope shared a picture of the Scotland international with his hands as binoculars looking through the window, as the journalist jokingly asked whether it was Conway or a Southampton analyst.

Hellberg, who had previously said Boro were victims of ‘cheating’, didn’t discuss the incident much at his latest press conference, as he instead focused on football.

Southampton vs Middlesbrough will be a feisty clash on Tuesday

Clearly, this isn’t something that’s just going to go away, and nor should it. We know that it has happened before with Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa, but that incident prompted a change in rules.

So, this is a serious breach by Southampton, and given what’s at stake, it’s no surprise that Boro are very unhappy that it has happened.

That added an extra edge to the game on Saturday, and whilst it was 0-0, it was played at a frantic pace in front of a bouncing atmosphere at the Riverside Stadium.

Now, though, as Hellberg says, it’s all about football, and no punishment is going to be announced before kick-off, so it makes sense he is concentrating on the game.

Boro can take huge encouragement from the way they played in the first half, even if they couldn’t find the crucial breakthrough that their play deserved.

Southampton did improve considerably after the break, and they will certainly fancy their chances on their own patch considering they haven’t lost a Championship game since mid-January.

With a place in the play-off final up for grabs, it’s evenly poised, and the Spygate incident has just added to the tension, and that will be reflected on the pitch and in the stands on Tuesday night.

For Conway and Boro, they will be desperate to reach the Premier League, and it would be sweet for the north-east side to overcome Southampton given what has gone on.

If they can do that, it would be no surprise if Conway and his Boro teammates get their binoculars out again at the full-time whistle!