Kim Hellberg does not need reminding what Middlesbrough Football Club means to Teesside. The head coach, who arrived from Swedish club Hammarby last November, says the connection between the club and its town became apparent from his first day and has only deepened since.

"You could feel from the first day that football was something special here," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees. "It has just grown stronger every day I've been here. I can't go anywhere without people saying to me 'Up the Boro'! It feels like everyone is a Boro fan whatever they do. It's a privilege to be the football coach at this club."

Those words carry extra weight this weekend. Middlesbrough are marking their 150th anniversary with a sell-out fixture at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, a ceremony that has already been preceded by a legacy match in front of another full house, during which dozens of former players returned to Teesside from across the world. Among those who came back were club legends Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli, two names that speak to an era when Boro competed at the highest level of English football.

That history gives Hellberg's project its context. His stated ambition is to return the club to the top flight, and right now the early-season evidence suggests the Riverside is a good place to have that conversation. Middlesbrough sit third in the Championship after eight matches, a position that will have felt some distance away in the summer when the club had to process the pain and controversy of play-off failure and the so-called Spygate episode.

"From last season, everyone has raised their game, everyone together," Hellberg said. "It's lovely to be part of and makes you proud of the football club, the supporters, everyone who works with the club. That togetherness makes you very proud and also very privileged to be in a role of coaching a brilliant club like Middlesbrough."

The anniversary celebrations have drawn attention to how the club functions as something wider than a football team. Two consecutive sell-out occasions, a noisy home support and a squad that has responded to adversity are the ingredients Hellberg points to when he describes what has driven the start to this season.

"That makes you proud of what we've gone through and how we've worked together to come to this stage," he said. "When you see the legacy game selling out, now this game selling out and how loud we've been this season, it's absolutely brilliant."

Third place after eight games is, of course, a snapshot rather than a verdict. The Championship is long and unforgiving, and Middlesbrough have spent recent seasons knowing exactly how quickly a promising position can unravel in the second tier. But Hellberg is not the type to dampen the mood with excessive caution. He arrived with a reputation for building togetherness at Hammarby, and that reputation, at least in this early stretch of the season, appears to be holding up on Teesside.

For a club that started 150 years ago and has lived through relegations, administrations, near-misses and moments of genuine European football, the anniversary provides a useful lens. Hellberg may be a Swede who had never managed in England before November, but he seems to have grasped the essential point: at Middlesbrough, football is not a product the town consumes. It is something the town is.

"It's important to remind yourself," he said, "and that gives you even more energy every day to get up to do everything you can to make them happy."

Whether that energy translates into a sustained promotion push remains to be seen. For now, sitting third and celebrating 150 years in front of a packed Riverside, Boro supporters have good reason to feel that something is stirring.

Frequently asked

Where are Middlesbrough in the Championship table?
Middlesbrough are third in the Championship after eight matches of the current season.
Who is Middlesbrough's head coach?
Kim Hellberg, who joined from Swedish club Hammarby in November, is Middlesbrough's head coach.
What is Middlesbrough's 150th anniversary fixture?
Middlesbrough are marking their 150th anniversary with a sell-out home game at the Riverside Stadium, chosen specifically to commemorate the club's founding 150 years ago.