Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott admits he hated the game when he was out of the team last season.

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He said: "I hated the game. I hated everything about it, literally: training, treatment... I didn’t want to watch football.

"When you are injured or not playing and you can’t see an end to it you start to think that it is no fun anymore.

"I was as low as you could get last season. It doesn’t help when you get back in, play the odd game and then you get injured again. My form wasn’t great, I was left out and I was getting frustrated. It was as bad as it gets.

"But you’ve got to have belief in the bad times. It’s friends and family that get you through. I just wanted to get fit, that’s the bottom line."

This season, Riggott is starting to enjoy his football again.

He added: "It’s a great game when you are playing. I have not been playing out of my skin, just had a few steady games but people say 'you are playing well' and that is nice.

"The main thing is keeping fit and enjoying my football and right now I’m doing that. It’s nice playing and it is nicer still playing in a winning team."