Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough FC: Callum Brittain looking to build on important foundation

Did you know with a Digital subscription to Yorkshire Post, you can get access to all of our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Until Saturday's 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, Boro had only kept one clean sheet – in the League Cup win at home to Wrexham which coach Kim Hellberg treated as a halfway house between the end of pre-season and the start of the competitive campaign, in his eyes at least. But former Barnsley defender Brittain says an attacking team places a high premium on shutouts and they will be looking to take that into their League Cup third-round tie at Premier League Selhurst Park. "First half (at QPR) we were extremely good on the ball, played our football, created our chances," reflected Saturday's captain for the day. "Second half they came out and they were firing, to be fair. "We didn't quite find the solutions we wanted to but we still had really good chances on the break. "But that's how we want to defend as a team. We build our foundation off that and to get a clean sheet was amazing. "We've been looking for that since the season started. We pride ourselves on clean sheets, not giving away big chances, staying together as a team. That spirit really showed at the end." Some teams will inevitably make excuses about an unwanted midweek game this week but it is an occupational hazard in the Championship, and Brittain thinks this transfer window has left his club well prepared for it. "There's so much energy in the squad, so much depth, so much enthusiasm that's come into the group – young legs and experienced, it's a great group to be involved with," he said.