Less than a week ago in a press conference at Rockliffe, Aitor Karanka enthused about Albert Adomah the man and Albert Adomah the footballer.
Five days on and the manager finds himself answering questions about the winger’s absence.
Since that press conference Adomah has been left out of the starting XI against his former side and dropped from the squad altogether for last night’s cup tie at Burton.
Unsurprisingly, that was the talking point at the Pirelli Stadum.
Not the fact Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, a former Boro favourite, gave his ex-club one almighty fright. And not the fact Criisthian Stuani continued his early season flutter of the eyelashes with the Capital One Cup with a two-goal salvo to manoeuvre Boro away from the banana skin sprawled out in their path.
In Adomah’s absence, Boro advanced, but this was a far cry from the stroll at Oldham Athletic in the last round.
Boro were made to grind out their victory at the Pirelli against a stubborn, well-drilled Burton side who, on this showing, will stick around at the top end of League One this term.
The opening goal was fortuitous: the ball hitting George Friend in a mini scramble and bouncing beyond the despairing Tomas Mejias.
And it came in a first half which Boro dominated but just couldn't find that finishing touch. Where have we heard that before?
Just like Saturday, the second half turned into attack v defence. Unlike Saturday, Boro found a way through.
Here's what we learnt from the win over Burton:
“He has improved a lot since I arrived (in November 2013), not just on the pitch,†said Karanka in that aforementioned press conference last week.
“He feels now he is an important player and he was the captain (against Oldham Athletic) one week ago.
“It was easy to make him captain. The armband is testament to how he behaves .
“The armband shows that he is a player who others follow. The captain has to lead by example and he certainly does that."
From captain in the first round to absent in the second, all is clearly not well between Aitor Karanka and Albert Adomah.
The winger is believed to have been unhappy at being left out against his former side Bristol City. He didn't even travel with the squad last night.
Aitor Karanka was non-committal when asked about Adomah post-match but did reveal that it was "his decision" to leave him out. There was no minor knock as a contributing factor and no hint that he'd left him out purely to rest him.
Consistent and classy at this level, Albert Adomah has been one of Boro's best since Christmas. He took his fine form from the end of last season into pre-season and on into the start of the current campaign.
But suddenly there's an uncertainty about what happens next. One thing's for sure, Boro are a better team with Albert than without.
Source: Gazette