Following Middlesbrough’s victory against Leicester City, Lewis O’Brien talked with BBC Radio Tees var brandingClass = useCustomForm? ”: ‘button-theme-publication’
The players at Middlesbrough, according to Lewis O’Brien, think they may qualify for the Championship play-offs this year because of the “special” environment in the locker room.
With 14 games remaining, Boro defeated Leicester City thanks to a man-of-the-match performance from O’Brien, keeping Michael Carrick’s team outside looking in. They have a game in hand but are now seven points outside of the top six.
Due to injuries to important players Jonny Howson and Hayden Hackney, O’Brien teamed with Dan Barlaser in Boro’s midfield against Leicester. With the two players expected to be sidelined for an extended period of time, O’Brien and Barlaser will be crucial going ahead. The loanee from Nottingham Forest is enjoying it.
“As a group, despite results of late, we’ve always looked at ourselves as having something special inside of us,” O’Brien remarked in an interview with BBC Tees following Leicester’s victory. The tenacity, passion, and talent we shown at Leicester only served to confirm that. Now, the goal is to put together a little run.
It is imperative that we support one another, particularly in the middle. We want to strengthen our bonds with one another throughout training since you never know when you’ll be playing together.
“When you look at our team, you can see that we have a really powerful group with flexibility to adjust the lineup. I believe that today demonstrated my and Dan’s ability to work well together in the midfield, and I hope we can continue that.”
Being on the field again is a huge comfort for O’Brien. Having left Huddersfield Town to join newly promoted Forest last year, he had a terrible season and wanted to play more, so he signed a loan with Boro last summer. Nevertheless, the gifted midfield player had to miss four months of the campaign due to a serious ankle injury that needed to be operated on at Watford.
“I obviously came here to play as much football as I possibly could, but it’s been a long, tough road for me,” he said in reflection. “I was really put behind by the injury. I doubt that I’m 100% right now. Ankle injuries are not something that just happen to those who are fit. It requires some time to regain its strength.
“I believe that this is perhaps the first time I haven’t experienced any anguish because of the circumstances and the victory. It was difficult for me to sit and observe the boys during my four months off. We’re still in and around it, though, so now that I’m back, we can make a serious push.”