Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg has spoken publicly for the first time since his side were reinstated to the Sky Bet Championship play-off final following the so-called ‘Spygate’ scandal.
Boro progressed after an independent commission expelled Southampton from the play-offs and dismissed the Saints’ appeal. The FA has also announced an investigation into Southampton and the individuals involved.
Middlesbrough will now meet Hull City at Wembley on Saturday 23 May, with kick-off at 15:30 BST and live coverage on Sky Sports. The winner will earn promotion to the Premier League.
Hellberg said the past fortnight had been an emotional rollercoaster. “It’s been a crazy time,” he admitted, describing the highs and lows of losing the semi-final on the pitch and then being drawn back into the controversy off it. He insisted his previous remarks were about his feelings, not calls for punishment: “I was talking about my emotions. I had nothing to do with the decision or punishment; I just talked about how the situation made me feel.”
The coach acknowledged the situation had been difficult for everyone connected to the clubs. He expressed sympathy for supporters, who bought tickets expecting to see their teams at Wembley, and for other clubs caught up in the fallout. “It’s been weird for a lot of different teams and supporters. It’s not fair to them,” he said.
Hellberg admitted maintaining focus and preparing the squad had been a challenge since the initial 12 May defeat to Southampton. Training was disrupted and he described it as “very, very difficult” to prepare normally. To clear his head, he spent some time in Sweden with his son, which he said helped him gain perspective.
Asked whether Middlesbrough would now need to tighten privacy at their training ground, Hellberg was blunt: the club may have to consider changes. He said the episode underlined the importance of respect and the purpose of the rules: “It’s a lot about respect and that’s why the rules are there. Maybe we will have to look at that.”
Hull head coach Sergej Jakirovic said it was a relief to have clarity about the final opponent. He explained Hull had prepared initially for Southampton after they won their semi, then switched focus to Middlesbrough once the decision was announced. “We prepared for at least seven days for Southampton and, from Tuesday evening, we started to prepare for this game against Middlesbrough,” he said.
Jakirovic insisted his team’s concentration remains on their own performance rather than the circumstances that produced the fixture. “No matter who our opponent was, our focus and concentration is on our team, what we can do there, how we can use our advantages,” he said. He added he was optimistic after some good training sessions.
When asked whether it would have been fairer to promote Hull automatically, Jakirovic joked that would be the “best idea” from his club’s perspective, but he deferred to the independent panel’s judgement. “My job is to prepare my team for the final and try to get to the Premier League,” he said.
With Wembley now set, both managers say their priority is to ready their squads for a one-off match that carries huge financial and sporting implications. Off-field debate will continue while on-field preparations intensify ahead of Saturday’s final.