Middlesbrough will continue pursuing an attacking style of play this season despite defensive vulnerabilities, manager Kim Hellberg has said.
Boro sit third in the Championship after 11 games. They could move into top spot if they win at Bolton Wanderers on Friday. Only West Ham United have scored more than Middlesbrough's 22 league goals, but Boro have recorded only two clean sheets so far.
Hellberg defends attacking approach
Hellberg said the club's strategy is deliberate. "You have to pick in football what you want to be and we want to be an offensive team," he told BBC Radio Tees. "That's what we believe in."
The Swedish manager added that the approach has transformed Middlesbrough's performance. "That's taken us from where we were almost a year ago which was almost totally different to how we played football to being the best team in the league at controlling games," he said.
Recent form shows attacking intent
Boro's last six matches produced 25 goals in total. The team scored 14 of those but conceded 11. Against Millwall and Cardiff City, Middlesbrough came from two goals down to draw at the Riverside in both matches.
In the Cardiff game alone, Boro registered 36 shots. Hellberg said he expects no change in approach. "We're very different to a lot of teams in how we approach games, how we take them on and how brave we are," he said. "We win more than we lose because of that."