Middlesbrough were held to a disappointing goalless draw against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and lacked quality in attack.
Michael Carrick‘s side lost ground on their play-off rivals and reside seven points adrift of sixth-placed Norwich City, who beat Stoke City on the weekend.
Boro were toothless in attack against a relegation-threatened Rovers side who are yet to win under new manager John Eustace.
Hopes of achieving a top-six are now slim, though, not impossible. Boro can’t afford any more slips up and may have to take maximum points in their remaining four home games.
Heading into the final eight fixtures of the campaign, Middlesbrough have to be more clinical having failed to convert any of their 18 attempts on Saturday.
Carrick may have the perfect answer to his side’s profligate nature and it lies within the academy set-up.
Michael Carrick keeping tabs on Sonny Finch
Sonny Finch, who is a highly-rated centre-forward, will be a familiar name to many Boro fans. The 18-year-old was named on the bench against Blackburn after a long injury layoff.
Finch has netted five times in as many outings in the Premier League 2 since returning and could be given an opportunity in the first-team.
Carrick has been well aware of the talented teenager for a while now and noted that he was ‘excellent in training‘ last August.
Speaking on his under-21s form, the Boro boss said: “I’m delighted for Finchy. He’s had a few issues with his ankle on and off for a period of time so we took the decision to try and get it sorted now and be patient with him, to give him a period of time to get back training, get fit, spend some time just getting himself back to his level and being really patient with him.
“He’s playing and scoring goals, that’s kind of what he does. He always finds a way to find the back of the net. It’s great to see. The longer it goes, we’ll get him back around us as time goes on. It’s great to see him back fit, he’s so young and he has his whole career ahead of him. There’s loads of time for him.”
Could Sonny Finch fire Middlesbrough back into playoff contention?
Carrick sounded like he was keen to ease Finch back into first-team action, though, with a top-six finish still in reach, he could be Boro’s wildcard heading into the business end of proceedings.
Finch is a versatile forward and can operate just behind the focal point, so perhaps he could form a pairing with Emmanuel Latte Lath or Marcus Forss.
It’s certainly a risk to throw the youngster into the deep end having recently returned from injury but it could be one worth taking, particularly if he can fire Middlesbrough back into playoff contention with goals.