Kim Hellberg has described Middlesbrough's opening to the Championship season as "very, very strong" ahead of the club's upcoming fixture against Millwall, speaking on Radio Tees.

Confidence at the Riverside

Hellberg's comments, made to Harry Roy in a pre-match interview, reflect a mood around the club that has been building over the early weeks of the campaign. Middlesbrough appear to have settled quickly into the rhythm of the second tier, and the tone from within the camp ahead of the Millwall fixture is one of genuine belief rather than cautious optimism.

It is worth being clear about what we know and what we do not. The source of Hellberg's remarks is a short Radio Tees clip, so we do not have the full tactical detail or the precise context behind his confidence. What we can say is that a figure connected to the club has gone on record describing the start as "very, very strong" — and in a division as relentlessly competitive as the Championship, that kind of statement is not made lightly.

What a strong start actually means in this division

The Championship punishes complacency more readily than almost any other league. Clubs that build momentum in the opening weeks can establish a cushion that proves crucial come March and April, when fixture congestion and fatigue begin to bite. A genuinely strong start, if the underlying numbers support it, gives a manager the luxury of rotating and experimenting without immediately haemorrhaging ground on the sides immediately above and below them.

Middlesbrough will be aware that the table in September is an early snapshot rather than a verdict. But the psychological value of a positive start should not be dismissed. Players settle, tactical patterns bed in, and supporters get behind the team when results are coming. That feedback loop can carry a club a long way.

Millwall: a stern test of those early credentials

If Middlesbrough's start has genuinely been as strong as Hellberg suggests, the fixture against Millwall represents a useful barometer. Millwall are a Championship side with a well-established identity: physically combative, hard to beat at home, and capable of making life extremely uncomfortable for sides who prefer to play through the thirds.

Millwall have had their own storylines this season, including the recent return of Romain Esse on loan and the earlier high-profile departure of Femi Azeez. A club in the process of reshaping its squad can go one of two ways: unsettled and inconsistent, or galvanised by a clear direction. Which version turns up against Middlesbrough matters enormously for how the game unfolds.

For Boro, a positive result would do more than bank three points. It would lend genuine weight to Hellberg's claim and signal to the rest of the division that their early form is no fluke. Championship clubs at every level of the table will be watching how they handle this kind of fixture.

The bigger picture

Middlesbrough's stated ambitions in this division are well known. Manager Michael Carrick has consistently spoken about building a team capable of competing at the top end of the second tier, and the club's recruitment over recent windows has reflected that intent. A "very, very strong" start, if it holds, puts them in the conversation around the automatic promotion places rather than merely the play-off fringes.

We should be careful not to over-interpret a pre-match radio interview. One confident voice ahead of a single fixture tells us about mood, not destiny. But mood matters in the Championship, and right now, the mood around Middlesbrough sounds like one worth watching.

Frequently asked

How have Middlesbrough started the Championship season?
According to a pre-match interview on Radio Tees, Kim Hellberg described Middlesbrough's start to the Championship season as 'very, very strong', though full results and table details were not confirmed in the clip.
When do Middlesbrough play Millwall?
The fixture between Middlesbrough and Millwall is imminent, with the pre-match interview conducted by Kim Hellberg on Radio Tees on 14 September 2026 ahead of the game.
What are Middlesbrough's chances of promotion this season?
Middlesbrough have been among the clubs tipped to challenge at the top of the Championship, and early-season confidence within the camp suggests they are aiming at least for the play-off places if not automatic promotion.