Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg has admitted that the Spygate saga may have taken its toll on him and his team. Boro fell to a 1-0 defeat against Hull City in the Championship play-off final.
Oli McBurnie’s stoppage-time goal was enough to separate the two sides in Wembley heartbreak for Middlesbrough. Their participation in the final was only fully confirmed on Wednesday following Southampton’s expulsion and subsequent failed appeal.
Speaking to the media after the match, Hellberg admitted: “What has happened made it the toughest two weeks I have had in terms of emotions.
“It’s been tough and draining, but it is not an excuse. We were ready to play the game, Hull scored the goal, and we have to congratulate them.
“In general the performance was quite good – those types of games are always going to be tight. We were not good enough in creating big chances from our opportunities.
“We had a lot of times where we drove the game forward but we didn’t create enough although we defended really well.
“It’s a game of small margins – we did a lot of good things in the game but they scored the goal and we have to congratulate Hull.”
The final came amid the drama of Spygate, which began when Middlesbrough caught a member of Southampton staff spying on training in the build-up to the first leg of the semi-final. The Saints were subsequently charged by the EFL.
Southampton won the semi-final 2-1 on aggregate over the two legs. But an independent panel kicked them out of the final after they admitted to spying, while Middlesbrough took their place at Wembley.
There was more possible drama in the build-up to the final on Sunday, with Hull owner Acun Ilicali threatening legal action should his side lose the final. The Tigers felt that they should have been promoted automatically following Southampton’s expulsion.
“Under normal circumstances, two teams have reached the final and one has been disqualified,” Ilicali said. “Our lawyers’ opinion is that we should go directly to the Premier League, but they’re examining it right now. We can’t say anything definitive. It’s a bit of a messy situation.
“We had been preparing for Southampton for 10 days. All the planning, analysis, and work was focused on them. Now, with the days left until the final, the opponent has changed. Tomorrow the players are off, Thursday is the last serious training session. We’ll prepare for the new opponent with one training session.”