Jonathan Woodgate has warned his Middlesbrough teammates that they "must do better" if they are to earn promotion to the Premier League.
The Smoggies, who missed out in the playoff final last season, have won just one of their opening four league fixtures.
That barren run includes a 1-0 home defeat to Bristol City last time out, which Woodgate believes offers cause for concern at this early stage of the campaign.
However, despite the "bang average" start made by his side, the former England international is confident that the only way is up once the new signings successfully bed in.
"The start has been bang average over the four league games so far if I'm honest," he is quoted as saying by Gazette Live. "If we want to achieve our ambitions then we need to do better that we had done so far, that's for sure.
"But we have got new lads bedding in so it is natural that things haven't quite clicked yet. And to be honest it was the same last season. In fact I think we were probably a bit worse off at this stage last year.
"But at this point you don't really get a true reflection of how it will shape up because all the new players are just settling in. And that's not just at Boro."
Woodgate made his first appearance of the season in the 2-1 League Cup win over Burton Albion in midweek.
