Duncan Watmore, just the player to thrive under Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough

Reading have been on a mixed run of form this month, winning just one of their four matches which has seen them lose ground in the race for promotion. They face another tricky looking test this weekend with the visit of Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough to the Madejski Stadium.

Boro, however, aren’t in great form themselves, winning just one of their last five league outings, although they did win in their most recent game, claiming a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield Town at the Riverside.

One player who has been a key cog in the Warnock machine this term has been former Sunderland striker Duncan Watmore. He initially signed a short term deal at the club last October and, after impressing in that initial spell – he was rewarded with a two and a half year deal at the Riverside.

He has netted six goals in 16 appearances since making the switch to Boro after being released at the end of his contract with the Black Cats, ending a seven-year stint at the Stadium of Light.

Despite being a league higher, Warnock and his coaching staff were prepared to take a chance on the 26-year-old, who in truth struggled with injuries at Sunderland, featuring just 88 times for the club in seven years.

He began his youth career in the Manchester United academy but didn’t manage to progress through, getting released at the age of just 12, meaning he had to build his way back up to reach the point he is at now. Initially at Altrincham, he experienced a couple of loans prior to moving to Sunderland in 2013.

Watmore also spent a little bit of time up in Scotland at Hibernian but that was short lived, featuring just ten times in which he scored just once.

There has always been much interest in the Manchester-born forward, who, during his Sunderland days, was compared to Gareth Bale by former teammate Jermain Defoe, who likened Watmore’s ball control to that of the Welshman.

The Boro striker had gone on a little bit of a drought prior to scoring in the midweek win over Huddersfield Town – going seven games without a goal, but having got his first of the year, Warnock will hope that he can get on a roll now with Boro still someway off in the race for the play-offs.

Warnock praised Watmore’s strike after the game to Teeside Live.

If that was in the Premier League people would be raving about it for weeks.

They would be talking about goal of the season.

Duncan is getting fitter. I thought first ten when we were poor he was poor.

But he got into it. And he needs a Fletch. He sees things in his flicks and brings people into the game.

Going into the game there is eight points between the sides as we move towards the back end of the season, with just 16 games remaining, making this weekend’s clash an absolutely crucial one in both club’s seasons.

The Royals are six points off the automatic promotion places after their recent dip in form but still well in the mix at the top. However, they will know just how crucial a weekend it could be with Bournemouth returning to form in recent games having endured a poor patch of their own.

This is the second meeting between the two sides this season, having also played out a goalless draw in the North East in mid-October, a result which at the time kept the Berkshire club in the top two.

Warnock has a great record of getting sides promoted and he will be desperate to try and break through what is a fairly settled top six, with Norwich, Swansea and Brentford looking tough to chase. The former Cardiff manager will have set his sights on catching Saturday’s opponents and Bournemouth, who they face on Good Friday.

The Boro boss’s former team Cardiff are also making a late push for the top six, having won their last four on the spin, so he will be wary of the Bluebirds getting in the way of his own chase for the play-offs, they are currently level on points with the Welsh club, ahead on goal difference.

Watmore and his Boro teammates will need another strong performance on the road this weekend if they are to put the pressure on the Royals and claim just their ninth victory on their travels, a feat which is bettered by five clubs.

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