WHEN Kim Hellberg sat down with his Middlesbrough players last week, he was quick to make sure they were aware of and understood his "non-negotiables" as a head coach.

He wants to play on the front foot, he wants the ball on the deck, he wants his players to "believe in their own qualities".

And of course he has preferences when it comes to the shape and the type of player he likes for different roles.

But Hellberg doesn't see flexibility as a weakness.

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As much as he might have an idea in his mind as to how he'd ideally like Boro to look six months or a year down the line, he also appreciates the importance of the here and now in football and getting the most out of the options at your disposal at any given moment.

He will, he says, "adapt" when he sees fit, fo

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