Exclusive: Don Goodman drops honest Middlesbrough FC claim involving Rob Edwards | OneFootball

Don Goodman believes that there's still work to do over a long season, despite Boro's perfect start

EFL Pundit Don Goodman believes that there's still work to do at Middlesbrough, despite a perfect six-point start to the new Championship season.

Boro owner Steve Gibson will feel delighted with his decision to hire Rob Edwards as the new manager, with former Coventry City assistant Adi Viveash as his number two, as the side have won both of their league games so far this term, and have kept two clean sheets in doing so.

However, these two performances only cover a fraction of the season, and the main focus will be on maintaining this solid start over the next nine months.

Rob Edwards' side have come out on top in two close games, despite the 3-0 scoreline away at Millwall suggesting otherwise. Ultimately, the new coaching team will take positives from the two shut-outs and their clinicality throughout the two games, but know they can assert themselves more as the season goes on.

Therefore, former Wolves and West Brom striker, Don Goodman, believes that Edwards and co won't be getting carried away, albeit with their start being as good as it could be, points-wise.

Don Goodman gives honest assessment of Middlesbrough's start under Rob Edwards

In an exclusive interview with Football League World, Goodman said: "We're two games in and Middlesbrough have won both games - you can't really do better than that.

"What will please Rob Edwards and Adi Viveash more than anything is the clean sheets.

"They've made their team hard to play against and well organised."

Boro only allowed three shots all game against Swansea City on opening day, and just one shot on target away at Millwall. There's no doubt that their defensive displays have been very solid, which will be a relief for Edwards, whose Luton Town side leaked goals under him in the first half of the 2024/25 campaign.

However, they only managed six shots themselves against Swansea, and scored twice late to add gloss to their win at Millwall.

"They haven't been scintillating in their performances," Goodman added, "but they've managed to get the wins.

"Two very late goals made it sound like a really comfortable win at The Den away at Millwall, but it probably wasn't that."

Ultimately, there are still 44 games remaining of the league season. It's been a perfect start for Boro, but not one that confirms immediate promotion or play-off intentions at the Riverside.

"I don't think after two games, anyone will be getting carried away at Middlesbrough or outside the club, and it's the same with West Brom and Stoke City, the other two sides who have won both games so far," Goodman said.

"It's a promising start, but there's still probably work to do for all three of those clubs."

Middlesbrough can be happy with a solid Championship start, but know improvement will be necessary

Whilst no titles or play-off places are secured in the opening couple of weeks in a league season, Middlesbrough can be happy with the way they've started. After all, it quite literally couldn't have gone better in the league than six points out of six.

But this season is set to be a slog. Sides will get better over the next few months, and Rob Edwards and Adi Viveash have to ensure that their side gets better too, as clubs can punish them, as seen with their 4-0 home defeat against League One side, Doncaster Rovers, in the EFL Cup.

That blip will likely go down to a plethora of changes and rotation being made for a cup clash, but it showed that, despite a couple of solid defensive showings in the league, this Boro side can concede goals, and if they do in the league, they'll need to be better at crafting chances themselves.

But again, Boro