Middlesbrough taking FA Cup seriously says boss Chris Wilder ahead of third round clash at Mansfield Town

Few Championship clubs prioritise the FA Cup with Boro failing to get beyond the fourth round in any of the last four seasons.

However, after seeing the Stags put out League One clubs Sunderland and Doncaster away from home in successive rounds, Wilder is keen to avoid any such upset next month, insisting that, whichever team he puts out, he expects a win as part of the consistently high standards he is setting at his new club.

But he also hinted he may be throwing some of his younger players into the fray that day too.

He said: “We want to win every game. With everything that we do, we want the attitude right throughout the club.

“Whether it’s 23s, 18s, there has to be that attitude. Especially at the senior level though because that then filters down to the academy boys.

“Of course, they’re developing footballers and have to develop their skills and the way they play, but without that competitive attitude, whatever the game, you won’t have success.

“I won’t accept anything less. Of course, at times you might want to take different things from games, but above all else, I want to win and I want people to want to win and want to improve.

“I know Nigel Clough well and he will be eyeing a cup upset.

“But we’ll have 2-3,000 going down there and I don’t want us to be one of the upsets of the round. I want to progress in that competition, build momentum and win games of football.

“That momentum is key. Let’s be real about it, it’s been inconsistent here for a long time.

“We have to try and build that consistency and that only comes through our own attitude.

“We want big games at the Riverside and for that to happen we’ve got to take care of Mansfield and that attitude will be there from the off.

“As long as it is, we’ll have a great chance of winning.”

The game will take place on Saturday, 8th January and is now a 12.30pm kick-off for overseas TV coverage only.