Luke Young believes a storming finish to the season will leave Middlesbrough wondering what might have been.
England international Young insisted: "We know we can have a good end to the season.
"To be honest it makes you wonder what we would have been capable of if we had started the season playing the way we are now.
"Plus we have Afonso (Alves) coming in now and his goals record tells you that he is the kind of player that can maybe stick away some of the chances we have been creating.
"We probably won't see exactly what we can do until next season but there are a lot of positives there now."
Young is part of a defence which has conceded just three goals in five league outings.
He told the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette: "We are looking very solid and difficult to beat now and that's where you have to start.
"We have really tightened up right throughout the team and stopped leaking the goals - and maybe we are not being so open and cavalier in the way we were being early in the season and being punished for it.
"Now, even when we are maybe not playing such spectacular football we are still winning games, which is vital."
