Bennett urges Boro to tighten up

Full-back Joe Bennett is ready to go back to basics as Middlesbrough attempt to bounce back from a rare setback.

Boro's 2-0 home defeat by Burnley on Saturday represented a blow to their hopes of automatic promotion, although in the event, did not prove unduly costly.

Now Bennett is hoping a return to the defensive resilience which served them so well earlier in the campaign can spark a new push.

Speaking at the Middlesbrough Disabled Supporters Association awards annual dinner, at which he was named Young Player of the Year, Bennett said: "We have a cracking cup-tie against Sunderland which I think could be a great day out for the fans and the lads, everyone knows how much it means.

"But we have Coventry first and we have to get back to keeping a clean sheet. We kept clean sheets in three of the first four games in December and again against Shrewsbury (in the FA Cup third round).

"We are always likely to score goals, although maybe not as many as we would like. But as a defender, for me it starts with keeping a clean sheet."