Middlesbrough manager Kim Helberg has admitted that the Spygate incident may have taken a toll on him and his team. Boro lost 1-0 to Hull City in the Championship play-off final.
For a heartbroken Middlesbrough side, Oli McBurnie’s injury-time goal was enough to separate the sides. Their place in the final was confirmed on Wednesday following Southampton’s red card and subsequent appeal.
After the match, Helberg admitted to the media: “It’s been the toughest two weeks ever emotionally because of what happened.”
“It’s been tough and draining, but that’s no excuse. We are ready to play and Hull scored a goal so we have to congratulate them.”
“Overall, the performance was very good. These kinds of games are always close. We just weren’t good enough in terms of creating big chances.
“We had a number of moments where we pushed the game forward, but even though we defended well, we just couldn’t create enough.
“It was a close game. We did a lot of good things in the game but they scored the goal so we have to congratulate Hull.”
The final match took place amidst the drama of Spygate. It started when Middlesbrough caught Southampton staff spying on their training in the run-up to the first leg of the semi-final. Saints were subsequently charged by the EFL.
Southampton won the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate. However, an independent commission found them guilty of espionage and expelled them from the final, with Middlesbrough competing at Wembley instead.
There could be more drama ahead of Sunday’s final, with Hull owner Akun Ilikari threatening legal action if his side lose in the final. The Tigers felt they should have been automatically promoted following Southampton’s ouster.
“Under normal circumstances, two teams would advance to the final and one would be disqualified,” Illikali said. “Our lawyer’s opinion is that we should appeal directly to the Premier League, but we are currently considering it. I can’t say anything definitive. It’s a bit of a sticky situation.”
“We have been preparing for the match against Southampton for 10 days. All the planning, analysis and work was focused on Southampton. Now that there are only a few days left until the final, the opponent has changed. Tomorrow the players will have a day off and Thursday will be our last real training session. We will prepare for our new opponent in one training session.”
