, ‘The Championship is the most competitive league in Europe’ says Middlesbrough manager

‘The Championship is the most competitive league in Europe’ says Middlesbrough manager

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis has branded the Sky Bet Championship as being the most competitive league in Europe.

Pulis guided Middlesbrough to a 3-2 victory over his former club West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns yesterday to move within seven points of league leaders Norwich City, despite being in fifth place.

Currently, just 10 points separate the Championship’s top seven sides with just 16 full rounds of league fixtures to go.

The Welsh manager, who is hoping to guide Boro back into the top-flight in his first full season in charge, described every game in England’s second-tier as vital, due to the competitive nature of the division.

He said: “It’s the most competitive league in Europe, forget the Premier League.

“You can pick the top six or seven in the Premiership, it’s just the top two or three [who are title contenders].

“In this league, it’s every week. If you don’t turn up, you’ll get beat; it is very, very competitive.”

Middlesbrough have spent nine of the past 10 seasons in the Championship, with the only exception being a brief return to the Premier League in the 2016/17 campaign where they finished 19th and were subsequently relegated in their first season back in the big time.

Last season, Pulis almost guided the Boro back into the top-flight at the first time of asking, only to beaten in the semi-finals of the play-offs by Aston Villa.

For Pulis, many of the sides currently in the Championship are all too familiar for him, having previously managed fellow second-tier sides West Brom, Stoke City and Bristol City.

He also played 124 times in the old Second Division, representing Bristol Rovers and Bournemouth in England’s second-tier.

Pulis’ final 17 league games of the campaign will see them encounter a number of their promotion-chasing rivals, including back-to-back matches against second and third-placed sides Leeds United and Sheffield United this month and a home match against league leaders Norwich City at the end of March.

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