Chris Wilder's Middlesbrough warned Barnsley FC are out to 'bully' and expose weaknesses

The Reds remain rock bottom in the Championship but head into tomorrow’s match at Oakwell off the back of two wins in their last three games, having previously won just twice in 29 matches.

Their opponents sit just outside the play-off places under the guidance of a familiar figure in these parts, who has won 11 of his 17 games in charge so far.

Speaking ahead of what he described as a ‘vital’ game in Barnsley’s bid to avoid the drop, Callum Styles said: “I expect them to be strong, they have had good form lately, but so have we.

"We are back at Oakwell, got our fans behind us and hopefully we can create an atmosphere where we can bully them and we can get the three points from the game.”

Barnsley head coach Poya Asbaghi eased some of the pressure on his shoulders with Tuesday’s victory over Hull – his second league win in 15 attempts.

The 36-year-old said of play-off chasing Boro: “They are well-structured, they are a good, aggressive team with a lot of offensive qualities.

"The respect for Middlesbrough is there. I’m happy we have got them now because we also have confidence from our recent performances, knowing we can be the team that can expose their weaknesses.

"It would be a really good victory. When people are looking at our schedule, they are already trying to figure out which games are the three-pointers that Barnsley can collect. I don’t think anybody is watching our home game against Middlesbrough and thinking that should be one of them.”