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Middlesbrough may have slipped into the drop zone but upbeat Lewis Wing refuses to talk about relegation.

The midfielder insists Jonathan Woodgate's side have the ability and attitude to climb away from danger.

Boro had a numerical advantage over 10 man Fulham for 70 minutes on Saturday but couldn't prise them open.

The second successive goalless draw came as revived Huddersfield beat Barnsley 2-1 to claw clear and dump Boro into the Championship bottom three.

Blunt Boro have now not scored in three games and have not won in seven in a sorry sequence.

But optimistic midfielder Wing believes Boro have what it takes to stop the rot and swatted away relegation fears.

“It is still early on and it is not a nice place to be in the relegation zone but we are positive we will get out of this rut and win games," he said.

"We are confident. It is far too early in the season to be talking about relegation.

"We are a good side. We have played three tough teams in the last three games and we should have got results out of all of them. we were a bit unlucky."

Boro have looked more solid since switching to wing-backs but a string of missed sitters has cost them dear.

They spurned the better chances against table-toppers West Brom only to lose 1-0, had the edge at Huddersfield but failed to make it count in a 0-0 draw then couldn't break down 10 man Fulham.

Wing himself was left bemoaning his luck after rifling in a low free-kick that cannoned back off the post.

And Wing insists that for all the frustrations Boro are playing well and it is only a matter of time until the goals flow.

“I feel like the win will come soon," he said. "It's coming. We all believe that.

"There is a feeling that against Fulham we didn't seize our chance. We didn’t move the ball quick enough. We are all disappointed but we are still upbeat and have to trust the process.

“We have to move the ball quicker. We made it easier for them because they were sat in. We need to break teams down, create the chances and take them chances.

“Our heads haven't gone down. The confidence is there. We are creating chances. We just need one to go in and that changes everything. One will drop soon and when it does we will go on another run and win games.."

It is hard to escape the fact that shot-shy Boro have struggled up front. They have scored just 11 goals in their 14 games - and three of those came on the opening day.

In recent games front two Ashley Fletcher and Britt Assombalonga have squandered golden opportunities while a barrage of other efforts have been missed, saved or scrambled away.

“Scoring has been a problem," admitted Wing. "We are creating chance but it comes down to putting them away.

"We are frustrated and the fans are frustrated. We are trying to do right and it’s hard and disappointing.

"We don't find it hard to stay positive though because we are playing good football. We have to keep digging away, fight and get out of it."

Ashley Fletcher hasn't scored since the opening day 3-3 draw at Luton and £15m record signing Britt Assombalonga has notched just one in eight games but Wing says the strikers remain positive too.

“I think they are confident because we see them day in and day out scoring a lot of goals in training," he said.

"They are two good strikers. I believe in them and the whole team believes in them. We have to keep getting behind them and make sure we help them put them in.

“It’s not the strikers’ fault. We are a team together, we stay together, I wouldn’t blame anyone. It is all of our fault if there is a fault. Once the chances start to drop we will pick up points and climb the table."

Boro must now focus on Saturday's trip to Derby County, another side who have appointed a new boss and who have not performed as well as they would have expected.

And Wing says they will go there looking for a victory to spark a revival.

“We will work harder this week and prepare to win the game at Derby," he said.

“We will go there on Saturday and try to put on another show. We will try to score goals and try to win the game.

"I'll be taking the positives from the last three games. We have to trust what we are doing and trust what the gaffer wants us to do.

“I don’t think we have been playing badly. We are playing well and we have to build on that and get the results."