RAV VAN DEN BERG admits Middlesbrough have to avoid a repeat of their disastrous start to last season if they are to give themselves the best possible chance of winning promotion next term.

Having made a significant number of changes last summer, Boro failed to hit the ground running in the early weeks of the Championship campaign, picking up just two points from a possible 21 in their opening seven matches.

By the end of the season, they were finishing just four points outside the top six, so their poor opening month was clearly a major factor in their failure to make the play-offs.

Boro play their opening game of the new season when they host Swansea City a week on Saturday, and van den Berg is determined to make a much better start this time around.

“I think there is belief about what is possible this season,” said the Dutch centre-half, who played the opening half of last night’s penultimate pre-season friendly at Harrogate Town, which ended in a goalless draw. “What we showed last season was that at certain times and in certain games, we were pretty good. But we were inconsistent, and the way we started the season, I don’t think it could have been worse.

“We have to change that this time. The end of the season was really good, but the way we ended last season is the way we have to start this one.

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“We have to play every game consistently, that is the main thing we have to change. We cannot just have good parts of games and then drop, or good parts of the season that we do not sustain. That is the thing we need to work on, and we are working on it. If we can get off to a good start, then who knows what can happen?”

Boro complete their pre-season programme when they host Dutch club Heerenveen on Saturday, and unlike 12 months ago, there has not been any significant upheaval since the end of last term.

There have been no key departures so far – something the hierarchy are keen to maintain to the end of the transfer window – and the two new arrivals, Aidan Morris and Delano Burgzorg, appear to have settled in seamlessly.

“I think the summer has been really good,” said van den Berg. “There wasn’t a lot of players that left after the end of last season, so the squad has stayed quite intact.

“It hasn’t been a case of squad building over the summer, it’s more just been a case of doing the running to get fit and then working on certain areas we can improve. That has been the main goal in pre-season, and I think it has been excellent.

“We haven’t lost a game – we were a bit disappointed we only drew against Harrogate – so I think it has been really good and we are ready to start now.”