Middlesbrough's Homecoming: Kim Hellberg Prepares for Norwich Clash
Kim Hellberg is going home, and he sounds like a man who has missed the place.
After five away trips in six matches and a draining week on the road capped by a Carabao Cup exit at Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough’s head coach is counting down the hours to Saturday’s return to the Riverside – and to a meeting with a Norwich City side that suddenly looks dangerous again.
Back to the Riverside, back to the noise
Boro’s season has been shaped by motorways and hotel rooms so far. Now comes a chance to reset on Teesside, in front of a crowd Hellberg clearly trusts.
He hasn’t forgotten the last time Norwich came north. That night, a Hayden Hackney strike sent Middlesbrough joint top of the Championship and turned the Riverside into a cauldron.
“I remember that game last season, it was a brilliant atmosphere and I remember the last five minutes were absolutely crazy,” Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.
He wants that again. Maybe more.
“Norwich are a very good side,” he said. “It will be a very tough game but the atmosphere in all our home games has been very good.”
The Swede keeps circling back to that connection – players, staff, stands. He believes last season’s turbulence has hardened the club rather than fractured it.
“After everything that happened last season, everyone has got stronger together. Everyone has raised their level – players, supporters, coaches – everyone together to go to a higher level.
“I think the atmosphere has been very good in every game we have played and I am looking forward to being back against a very good side.
“We need the supporters being on our side and doing everything they can to help get us over the line against a very good opposition.”
The message is clear: same fixture, same intensity, new stakes.
Respect for Clement’s Norwich
Norwich arrive with their own story of recovery. A shaky start last season threatened to drag them into serious trouble until Philippe Clement walked through the door and changed the direction of the club.
Hellberg has been watching closely.
“Philippe Clement has done a brilliant job, he's a very good coach, builds a strong and well-coached team,” he said. “He turned the season around for Norwich last year - they were in danger when he arrived and have built through that.
“He's a top coach and will give us a lot of different and difficult challenges.”
That’s the duel that intrigues: two detailed, modern coaches, two sides that want the ball and want to play. Hellberg isn’t dressing it up as anything else.
“I think it is going to be a very good football game, two good teams against each other, brilliant kick-off time on a Saturday and we are looking forward to it.”
No talk of damage limitation. No cautious language. He expects a proper game.
Lankshear sets the standard
One of the main reasons for that confidence is wearing the No 9 shirt.
Will Lankshear missed out on the Championship Player of the Month award on Friday, but with seven goals in eight games since his summer move from Tottenham, he has already won over his head coach.
“I think he has done brilliantly, he's a good boy and has come into the team perfectly,” Hellberg said. “He works very hard on and off the pitch and that's the culture we are trying to create here.”
That word again: culture. Hellberg talks about it like a long-term project, not a slogan.
“I have seen a massive difference in the group, how they have progressed from the first day here to how we have gone forward and take care of each other in a very good way.
“I have so many good players here who compete in a brilliant way to try and help Middlesbrough win games and Will is one of them and it helps when you score a lot of goals.”
Lankshear’s form has become a symbol of that shift – a young striker arriving from a Premier League club, buying into the work, and dragging standards up with him.
Now comes the test that really tells you where a team is: a home game against a resurgent rival, a coach Hellberg openly admires, and a fanbase he believes can tilt the contest.
The Riverside has done it before against Norwich. On Saturday, it gets the chance to do it again.
