Middlesbrough defender Matthew Bates has called on his team-mates to stand up and be counted as they attempt to re-ignite their promotion campaign. The Teessiders currently lie in 18th place in the npower Championship table, 15 points adrift of leaders QPR, but just five off the play-offs after a run of three games without a victory. Bates told the club's official website: "We can't keep making excuses every week, which we seem to be doing at the minute. "We can't rely on luck either. We are not getting the rub of the green at the moment - hopefully that will change soon. "We are massively behind everything the manager and the coaching staff are doing. "As a group of lads, we have to get together and sort out what's going on, be men about it and put it right in the next game."
Source: PA
Source: PA