Middlesbrough missed points and failed to score for the second time this week on Saturday against Watford, and Borough manager Kim Hellberg was obviously angry after the game.

The draw at Vicarage Road saw Middlesbrough lose top spot in the Championship ahead of the November international break, with Birmingham City moving ahead of them on goal difference.

It’s not how Borough would have wanted to end this mini-block of games between international breaks, and the performance against Watford, in particular, would have given the manager enough to think about.

Indeed, this was Boro’s second consecutive game without leading talisman and Championship top scorer Will Lankshear due to injury, and it’s almost universally agreed that if the 21-year-old had led the line on Saturday, they’d have cruised to victory, as Borough had 18 shots, 34 touches in Watford’s box, and four big chances, but couldn’t score.

Kim Hellberg’s post-match comments against Watford ignited Middlesbrough debate.

Kim Hellberg, Middlesbrough’s manager, has demonstrated his enthusiasm for the game during his 12-month tenure at the Riverside. As a result of such a strong performance, it was apparent that this outcome would have an impact on him.

After the game, the Swede was filmed staring blankly at the ground for around half a minute, simply pondering on the game, and Borough fans reacted appropriately.

When Lankshear is hurt, some people make light of the situation on the front lines. A Borough supporter captioned the video, “What having Kyle Joseph as an attacking option does to man.” Another commented, “Please God make Will be fit, please God make Will be fit…..🙏.”

“You can tell this isn’t performative. Kim ‘gets it’, as seen by the fist bumps and celebrations when we win and the tears after the play-off catastrophe last season. He’s immersed himself in the #Borough way. “I’ve never seen a manager so invested in us,” a Borough supporter tweeted.

“Very powerful, but it also makes me want to hug him and tell him he’s one of my favourite ever Borough gaffers and everything will be fine,” someone said on the video, demonstrating Borough fans’ love and regard for their head coach.

Kim Hellberg’s reply highlights his goal to get Middlesbrough into the Premier League.

This is a man’s reaction to a disappointing result after coaching what was essentially the perfect game.

Plenty of head coaches nowadays are focused on the journey, performance levels, and strong underlying metrics, and Hellberg is certainly one of them, but he also understands the importance of winning games.

As one Borough supporter put it, he shoulders the weight of expectation among Middlesbrough fans, who are anxious to return to the Premier League after a decade out, and you can imagine he doesn’t take winning as seriously as some in the terraces do.

Reactions like this are why many believe Hellberg will become a top-flight manager in the near future, and Borough fans hope he will join them.

Middlesbrough must find a method to score goals without Will Lankshear leading the line.

However, it’s difficult to overlook the fact that, while Lankshear waits on the bench, Middlesbrough struggles to score and win.

Boro’s wasteful nature in front of goal dominated the narrative surrounding them in the final few months of last season as they fell out of the running for automatic promotion and into the play-offs, and they could have been out of sight in the first half of their play-off semi-final first leg against Southampton if not for poor finishing as well.

Lankshear has covered up the flaws by being superb at finishing the numerous chances Middlesbrough creates in a game, but the alarms are starting to sound without him.

Hopefully, the 21-year-old will return from the international break with no further injury setbacks, since it may mean the difference between promotion and a repeat of the past.

It’s something Hellberg will be thinking about for the next two weeks, and it appears to have started right after the last whistle at Watford.