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Riggott calls for hard work
Middlesbrough, 11:52, December 29, 2008 ,
Chris Riggott says Middlesbrough have the quality to pull away from relegation danger but must start battling for points on the pitch.
The central defender is disappointed with Boro's performances over the festive period which saw a 3-0 defeat at Fulham followed by a 1-0 Boxing Day home reverse at the hands of Everton. And Riggott has acknowledged that no wins in seven games means they are up to their necks in a relegation dogfight as they sit level on points with third-bottom Stoke ahead of Monday's daunting trip to Manchester United.
The former Derby County defender accepts that picking up anything at Old Trafford is unlikely, but wants a much-improved display which can be used as a springboard for a climb up the table in January.
He said: "The league is tight but that can be a positive too. Quite a few teams have had a stint in the bottom three and then got out of it by putting two or three wins together so we know it can be done.
"And we have the squad here who can do that. We have shown we can play well.
"The games against Villa and Arsenal have shown we can compete and get the results and it is not that long ago we were six games unbeaten.
"It is stating the obvious but we are down there because we haven't been playing well and must start playing better. The desire is there and the work-rate is there, I don't think anyone can question that, but we need the quality.
"We haven't been passing well enough or keeping the ball well enough and that invites pressure. We need to improve on that quickly.
"We have to stand up and be counted as a group. It is down to us to get out of it, knuckle down, work hard and start to get the results we need.
"We just need a good result or good display to spark us and send us on that little run."
Ahead of the trip to United, Riggott added: "It is a tough place to go to and no-one expects us to get anything there so we have nothing to lose.
"But we have to go there with the right attitude. We've got results there in the past.
"We've got to be positive, go there and roll our sleeves up and have a right go. If we sit back and defend we will get punished they have too much quality for that."