Michael Duff spoke to the press ahead of the Reds' Sky Bet League One clash with Derby County on Saturday.
ON DERBY COUNTY
"A tough one.
"Good footballing team. Very, very good at home; even last year. They've signed some really, really good players. We're under no illusion, it's gonna be a hard game."
ON MIDDLESBROUGH VICTORY
"We had to dig in, second half particularly.
"They had a lot of the ball; I'm not sure they created loads of great opportunities. Jack's made one good save and a couple flashed across the goal, but that sort of togetherness and doggedness gave us an opportunity to try and pinch the game.
"It looked like it was going to go to a 0-0 but even a 0-0 would have been a good result. They made eight changes, but we made seven as well. It wasn't a case of we just played their kids, we had a young team ourselves.
"The results are always pleasing, but the performance and the spirit; they're what we've really been trying to focus on since I've been in really."
ON CONSECUTIVE CLEAN SHEETS
"If you keep clean sheets, it always gives you a chance.
"If you're shipping three or four goals, it's hard to score four or five a game. So, there's no hiding from the fact that we are actively looking. But even if we went and signed Lionel Messi, I still want to keep clean sheets and I expect the work rate to be exactly the same. That has to be given, that's a minimum requirement."
ON JOSH BENSON
"I've known Josh a long time.
"The fact he's scored a goal and so many people have asked me about his confidence probably tells you more about how hard it got for him last year than I actually thought.
"He scored a good goal in pre-season, a good free-kick. The thing with Josh is he just needs to keep his head down now. Don't get carried away with five minutes of headlines. He's a good player; the supporters will have to trust me that he's a good player. He was brought in for a lot of money because the club thought he was a good player - I've seen it first hand.
"Being told you're a good player and being a good player are completely different things. Having a big price tag over your head and the expectation that comes with it is sometimes difficult. He needs to keep his head down, don't read the press, don't listen to people.
"He didn't listen to people last year when people they told him how rubbish he i, so don't start listening to the same people saying how brilliant he is. Just get your head down and be a good player, and then at the end of the season hopefully he's had a good season which means we've had a good season."
ON INJURIES
"We'll make a late call on Cadds [Nicky Cadden].
"Wolfey [Matty Wolfe] is a little bit further ahead than what we thought. So he's got half a chance, probably unlikely. Mich [Michał Helik] is still a no, Herbie's still a no. They're the two main longer-term ones."
