Middlesbrough’s promotion dreams were dashed on Boxing Day with an underwhelming 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers.
Kim Hellberg has enjoyed an outstanding start at Riverside Stadium since replacing Rob Edwards earlier this season.
The Swede has overseen four victories in his first six games, and Middlesbrough is now comfortably in the top two in the Championship.
However, the Boxing Day outcome was a return to reality, with Boro unable to break down a team that had only won one of their previous eight games.
However, Hellberg could have fared much worse, with Hayden Hackney fortunate not to receive a red card during the match.
Keith Hackett: Hayden Hackney should’ve seen red against Blackburn.
It was undoubtedly a frustrating afternoon for Middlesbrough, who were aiming to solidify their position in the promotion race.
However, Boro simply did not recover from their 2-0 loss to Bristol City, despite the visitors having the better chances throughout the game.
Middlesbrough were arguably fortunate in the end, as Hackney avoided a red card for a clear lash out against Taylor Gardner-Hickman.
After losing possession of the ball, the midfielder carelessly booted the Blackburn player to the ground. However, the referee only issued a yellow card in response to the event.
Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, was outraged by the decision and immediately criticized referee James Bell.
He stated: “The referee must have been napping on the job. This is a blatant red card offence.
“I hope the FA would consider taking retrospective action if the four officials failed to see the incident.
“This is a clear red card offence, and the player should not be allowed to get away with such a violent act.”
What did Kim Hellberg say about Middlesbrough’s draw with Blackburn?
Despite the unfortunate defeat, few teams in the promotion race gained points on Middlesbrough.
Every team between second and fifth drew on Boxing Day, so Boro retained their five-point lead over third place.
However, Hellburg was disappointed with the performance and was eager to criticize it.
On December 26, the manager told BBC Radio Tees: “I think the game as a whole was quite unsatisfactory. I believe you can observe a group of players who work extremely hard.
“After the game, we talked about dealing with the expectations of not always having your greatest day and how to deal with those situations when things don’t go your way.
“I believe there’s so much determination and willingness to do well, to do right, to go above and beyond for your teammates and the fans, and I think today that became a little bit of an issue because we started to force things because we wanted it so badly.
“That allowed us to use counters and made a lot of technical errors. I’m a little disappointed in myself for handling that aspect of the game, helping the players live up to expectations when we’re not having the best of days.
“We didn’t deserve more than a point.”
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