Middlesbrough vs Norwich: Hellberg Anticipates Thrilling Riverside Clash
Kim Hellberg is counting down the days to Saturday. After a draining run of five away trips in six games, Middlesbrough’s head coach cannot wait to walk back out at the Riverside – and he wants the place crackling again when Norwich come to town.
Boro’s Carabao Cup exit at Crystal Palace on Tuesday wrapped up a brutal week on the road. Three away games in seven days have tested legs and minds. Home suddenly feels like a luxury.
Now comes Norwich, a side who have found their feet after a shaky start. Hellberg knows exactly what this fixture can become on Teesside. He was on the touchline the last time the Canaries visited, when Hayden Hackney’s winner sent Boro joint top of the Championship and the Riverside into chaos.
“Norwich are a very good side. I remember that game last season, it was a brilliant atmosphere and I remember the last five minutes were absolutely crazy,” Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees. “It will be a very tough game but the atmosphere in all our home games has been very good.”
That is the theme he keeps returning to: the bond between the stands and the pitch.
“After everything that happened last season, everyone has got stronger together. Everyone has raised their level – players, supporters, coaches – everyone together to go to a higher level. I think the atmosphere has been very good in every game we have played and I am looking forward to being back against a very good side.
“We need the supporters being on our side and doing everything they can to help get us over the line against a very good opposition.”
Norwich arrive under Philippe Clement, and Hellberg’s respect for his opposite number is obvious. The Belgian walked into a difficult situation last season and dragged the Canaries away from danger, then built on it.
“Philippe Clement has done a brilliant job, he's a very good coach, builds a strong and well-coached team,” Hellberg said. “He turned the season around for Norwich last year - they were in danger when he arrived and have built through that. He's a top coach and will give us a lot of different and difficult challenges.”
“I think it is going to be a very good football game, two good teams against each other, brilliant kick-off time on a Saturday and we are looking forward to it.”
If the tactical battle in the dugout will be fascinating, the form of Will Lankshear gives Boro a cutting edge on the pitch. The 21-year-old missed out on the Championship Player of the Month award on Friday, but his numbers since arriving from Tottenham tell their own story: seven goals in eight games.
Hellberg is not remotely disappointed. If anything, he sounds proud.
“I think he has done brilliantly, he's a good boy and has come into the team perfectly. He works very hard on and off the pitch and that's the culture we are trying to create here.”
“I have seen a massive difference in the group, how they have progressed from the first day here to how we have gone forward and take care of each other in a very good way.
I have so many good players here who compete in a brilliant way to try and help Middlesbrough win games and Will is one of them and it helps when you score a lot of goals.”
A rested crowd, a bruised but battle-hardened team, a Norwich side on the rise, and a Saturday kick-off at the Riverside. Hellberg knows exactly what kind of stage that can become – if his players, and his supporters, hit the same level again.
