GEORGE Friend believes a run in the FA Cup would help rather than hinder Middlesbrough’s chances of gaining promotion this season.

Boro will put league matters aside for their third round trip to face Barnsley at Oakwell this afternoon having consolidated their position in the Championship’s top six over the festive period.

Aitor Karanka’s men are five points behind leaders Bournemouth going into the second half of the season, but Friend insists the squad is fully focused on securing a place in the fourth round of the cup.

“The FA Cup is great and I always believe a good run can only help your league form,” the defender said. “Some people see it as a negative and something that gets in the way of the league, but I believe it can really benefit our season, especially with the size of squad we have.

“If we get through and draw someone big we could have another big crowd at the Riverside.”

Optimism is growing that Karanka and Co can end the club’s wait for a return to the Premier League, and Friend admits it is hard to ignore the excitement building.

He said: “I think people are realising that something special is happening this year. The manager has put together a good squad and he has us playing good football. At home we are looking pretty strong.

“I think as a player you realise something good is happening when you’ve got a good team morale and the manager can manage his players well and get the tactics right.

“We have won games and apart from the games at Wolves and Ipswich, we have been consistent and you can’t help but feel something fairly special is going on but you don’t want to get carried away.

“We’ve got to remember we are only half way through the season and there are a lot of games left to play. Keeping our feet on the ground is going to be important but at the same time we want to keep momentum going and appreciate what we are doing here.

“If we keep picking up points we will stay in the mix. The main thing is we stay within touching distance of the top. Ipswich are going great guns at the moment and there’s a few other teams around us so we need to make sure we keep up with the pack.”

The last time Boro played at Oakwell a 3-2 defeat proved to be Tony Mowbray’s last game in charge.

The Teessiders went in 3-0 down at the break and defender Ben Gibson, who conceded a 43rd penalty, admits some of the players will go to South Yorkshire with a point to prove.

He said: “It was a bad day for the football club and personally I made a mistake by giving away a penalty.

“I think we were actually unlucky not to come back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 but it is something we want to put right.

“It’s never a nice play to go, but we will learn from what happened that day and make sure it never happens again.

“In the back of your mind if you have made a mistake at certain ground you always look forward to going back and putting it right.”

Emmanuel Ledesma has returned to the club following a loan spell at Rotherham.

It remains to be seen whether the Argentina forward will remain on Teesside, but Millers boss Steve Evans has hinted the club could try to re-sign him at a later date.

He said: “He conducts himself in a professional manner both on and off the pitch and he's had a huge impact on the squad with his expressive playing style and infectious character. He has enjoyed his time here.”

Seb Hines and Luke Williams have also returned from their respective loan spells at Coventry City and Scunthorpe United.