THE permutations of what could happen in the final month of the Championship season are pretty much endless. In the eyes of Middlesbrough skipper Jonathan Woodgate, however, the equation is simple. Win the final five games of the season, and the Teessiders can start preparing for life in the Premier League.

The first of those final five matches comes this afternoon, with Boro hosting a Rotherham United side who desperately need the points themselves to aid their battle against relegation in the bottom half of the table.

Monday’s defeat at Watford means Boro kick off today’s game in fourth position, and the rest of their run-in is difficult with Tuesday’s home game against in-form Wolves preceding Friday’s trip to promotion rivals Norwich City and outings against Fulham and Brighton.

The three sides above them have a more inviting finish, but it would be a major surprise if points were not dropped along the way, and while the mathematics might not completely concur, Woodgate is convinced that a 15-point haul would guarantee a place in the top-flight.

“It’s all about consistency, and the most consistent side from now on in will go up,” said the skipper, who will be playing his third game in the space of eight days if he is selected at the heart of the back four against the Millers.

“There are five games left, and this is the period where sides can really start pulling away if they put a run of wins together. If we win our last five games, we’ll go up - it’s as simple as that.

“Other people might disagree, but if we win all five of our matches, I think we’ll be celebrating promotion. That has to be our aim now.”

If Boro are to achieve that target, they will have to improve on the performance that saw them slip to a 2-0 defeat at Vicarage Road.

Alarmingly, that reverse followed hot on the heels of an even more emphatic defeat at Watford in the club’s previous away game, and in the last seven weeks, Boro have suffered as many losses as they had experienced in the previous ten months.

All bar one of those were away from home though, and if February’s somewhat freakish defeat to Leeds is taken out of the equation, it is August since the Teessiders were last beaten at the Riverside.

No one has recorded more Championship home victories than Middlesbrough this season, and for all that Monday’s setback was a disappointment, Woodgate insists it is important to keep sight of the bigger picture.

“It was a difficult afternoon and it wasn’t the result we were looking for,” he said. “But let’s not forget where we are in the table. We’re right up there in the mix.

“We were beaten on Monday, but we’re right up there, and if you’d said at the start of the season, or in pre-season training, that we’d be in the mix with five games to go, we’d have taken it. We’re there on merit, and we’re a good team, we know that.”

The challenge now is to maintain performances despite the mounting pressure at the top of the table.

Woodgate might boast a wealth of experience at the very highest level of the game, but the majority of Boro’s players are relatively inexperienced when it comes to a high-pressure end to the season.

While Bournemouth have a similarly inexperienced squad, both Watford and Norwich boast a number of players who have a host of high-profile matches under their belt, something Woodgate feels should not be overlooked when assessing how well the Teessiders have done this season.

“We’ll keep on going and keep on grafting,” he said. “There’s a lot of teams in this league who have a lot of star players and lot of players who have played in the Premier League.

“We’ve got a lot of loan players and some young lads who have come in, and we’re doing fantastically. We’re in the top four and we’ll keep on going right to the finish.”