With Middlesbrough out of the FA Cup and not in Championship action this weekend, they have elected to fly out to Spain for some warm weather training. Earlier today, manager Aitor Karanka, his staff and players arrived at the Marbella Football Centre.
Boro are next back in action on Tuesday when they welcome Cardiff City to the Riverside Stadium. Karanka wants to use this experience to bond the squad after five new players arrived in January.
The Boro squad departed the Durham Tees Valley airport earlier today and after arrived in sunny Spain. They will spend a week there, returning back to England late on Sunday.
Five players moved to the Riverside in January. The high profile acquisition of Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn Rovers was without a doubt the headline signing. Ritchie De Laet has been ever-present since arriving from Leicester City. Gaston Ramirez started the Monday night draw at Leeds United. Kike Sola and Julien de Sart have made brief appearances since joining the club.
With a busy end to the season ahead of them, Middlesbrough will look to utilise the warm surroundings to not only improve team morale, but to sharpen up on their form as it is now five Championship games without a win. They are still in an excellent position however, in second place, two points behind leaders Hull City with a game in hand. They could be leapfrogged by Brighton and Burnley this weekend however, whilst they are in Spain.
