HE has been linked with a possible move to some of the biggest clubs in the country, but when it comes to his biggest footballing ambition, Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney is happy to focus much closer to home.

“As a Boro lad, winning promotion would be the top of everything as far as dreams are concerned,” said Hackney, the Redcar-born playmaker who first joined Boro’s academy at the age of ten. “To win promotion to the Premier League with Middlesbrough, my hometown club, is the ultimate.”

Could it happen this season? That is the aim ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Swansea City that will fire the starting gun on nine months of Championship action.

Boro made the play-offs in Michael Carrick’s first season in charge, falling narrowly short when they lost to Coventry City in the semi-finals, but came up short last term as they finished in eighth position.

After a summer of stability, with no key names departing, hopes are high that the new campaign could witness a significant step forward.

“Promotion is 100 per cent the ambition,” said Hackney. “I don’t mind saying that we’re not looking for anything else. We want promotion and to finish as high up the table as we possibly can. We’ll give it our best shot.”

The quality of Boro’s midfield could be a major factor in their attempts to make it back to the Premier League, with Hackney once again joined by evergreen skipper Jonny Howson and the reliable Dan Barlaser in the battle for the central-midfield spots.

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There is another factor to consider this season, with Aidan Morris having headed across the Atlantic this summer in a £3m move from MLS side Columbus Crew.

Morris has made an instant impression during pre-season, catching the eye with his all-action midfield displays and slick passing, and Hackney admits the American’s presence has already seen the quality of training increase by a notch or two.

“Aidan is a really good lad and we already get on really well together,” he said. “You can see, obviously he’s a great player. Even in training, it’s so hard to get the ball off him.

“That extra competition can only make us all better. Getting game-time together can then only benefit us further as we get to know each other’s strengths, what he likes to do, how I can complement that and vice-versa. It’s been great to play with him so far.”