Middlesbrough vs Norwich: Hellberg Prepares for Riverside Roar
Kim Hellberg is counting down the hours to Saturday. After five away trips in six games and a draining Carabao Cup exit at Crystal Palace, the Middlesbrough head coach is desperate to feel the Riverside roar again – and he wants Norwich to walk into a wall of noise.
Boro’s schedule has been relentless, three games in a week on the road testing legs and minds. Home, for once, feels like a luxury.
Norwich arrive with momentum of their own, recovering from a shaky start to begin piecing wins together under Philippe Clement. Hellberg knows exactly what is coming, and he knows exactly what he wants from Teesside.
He hasn’t forgotten the last time the Canaries came to the Riverside. That night, a Hayden Hackney winner sent Middlesbrough joint top of the Championship and turned the closing stages into chaos in the best possible way.
“I remember that game last season, it was a brilliant atmosphere and I remember the last five minutes were absolutely crazy,” Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees. “It will be a very tough game but the atmosphere in all our home games has been very good.”
That connection, forged through the turbulence of last season, is what he keeps coming back to. Hellberg talks about a club that has come through the fire together – players, staff, supporters – and emerged sharper, more demanding, more united.
“After everything that happened last season, everyone has got stronger together. Everyone has raised their level – players, supporters, coaches – everyone together to go to a higher level. I think the atmosphere has been very good in every game we have played and I am looking forward to being back against a very good side.
“We need the supporters being on our side and doing everything they can to help get us over the line against a very good opposition.”
If the crowd is one part of the equation, the man in the opposite dugout is another. Hellberg’s respect for Clement is obvious and immediate.
“Philippe Clement has done a brilliant job, he's a very good coach, builds a strong and well-coached team. He turned the season around for Norwich last year - they were in danger when he arrived and have built through that. He's a top coach and will give us a lot of different and difficult challenges.
“I think it is going to be a very good football game, two good teams against each other, brilliant kick-off time on a Saturday and we are looking forward to it.”
The narrative isn’t just about the touchlines. On the pitch, one of the stories of Boro’s season so far has been Will Lankshear.
The 21-year-old striker missed out on the Championship Player of the Month award on Friday, but his numbers since arriving from Tottenham in the summer barely need a trophy to underline them: seven goals in eight games and a seamless step into the Championship spotlight.
Hellberg’s admiration stretches beyond the penalty area.
“I think he has done brilliantly, he's a good boy and has come into the team perfectly. He works very hard on and off the pitch and that's the culture we are trying to create here.
“I have seen a massive difference in the group, how they have progressed from the first day here to how we have gone forward and take care of each other in a very good way.
I have so many good players here who compete in a brilliant way to try and help Middlesbrough win games and Will is one of them and it helps when you score a lot of goals.”
So the scene is set: a rested Riverside, a Norwich side rebuilt under Clement, a young striker in form, and a head coach who wants the volume turned up.
Saturday won’t just measure Boro against a “very good side”. It will show just how far this tightened, hardened group – on the pitch and in the stands – can push together when the stakes rise again.
