Jonny Howson wants Middlesbrough to keep the faith during their ongoing battle to beat the Championship drop.
A run of three straight 1-0 defeats – coupled with weekend results elsewhere – has seen Boro plunge into the relegation zone ahead of tonight’s clash with Nottingham Forest at the Riverside Stadium.
Jonathan Woodgate’s men have also failed to score in their last three, hitting the net fewer times than anyone other side in the division this season.
But while League One football remains very much a possibility next season, Howson insists there is no need to panic.
Howson told Teesside Live: “Experience is important in this situation.
“I’ve been in this position before. A few of the lads have.
“It is important to remember there is always the next game, there is always that next opportunity to put things right.
“We have 11 games to go and we know, if we play to our best, then we can pick up enough points to climb the table.
“We have been here before. We had a ten game run without a win and were in the bottom three and we stuck at it, kept working and turned the corner and we have to do that again now.
“There isn’t anything special you can do. You can’t say we did this or that different but sometime over Christmas, when games come thick and fast, we got on a roll and now we have to do that once again.
“We need to get that first one on the door again and go from there. And it just one game at a time.
“The next game is the only thing you can affect. It’s Nottingham Forest next and that is all we can focus on.”
Howson added: “I believe there is the firepower in the squad to get us out of trouble.
“I am very confident in the lads in that changing room. We have the ability, we have the squad to get goals and to win games.
“Look, I can stand here and say this, that or the other but the bottom line is we have to go out and actually do it.
“We have to go out and do that and show the reaction we need.”
