Brentford out for Middlesbrough play-off revenge
BRENTFORD manager Mark Warburton believes his team have “unfinished business” with Middlesbrough ahead of their Championship first leg play-off encounter at Griffin Park tomorrow.
The west London club were thrashed 4-0 by Aitor Karanka’s side at Riverside Stadium last September in what Warburton describes as their worst performance of the campaign. That was followed by a 1-0 home defeat by the Teesside club in January after midfielder Grant Leadbitter netted a 44th-minute penalty.
Warburton said: “The game in January we played really well, created lots of chances and in one incident they got a penalty. But the away game was the worst 45 minutes of the season. We have some unfinished business there.”
The Bees gatecrashed the play-off places on the final weekend, leapfrogging promotion rivals Ipswich and Derby to finish fifth with a 3-0 victory at home to relegated Wigan. Victory over Middlesbrough would send them into a Wembley final estimated to be worth £130m to the winner.
“The Premier League is three games away,” added Warburton, who is set to leave at the end of the season even if they are promoted. “The most lucrative game in world football is two games away.”