ON Wednesday night, Ben Gibson committed his worst error of the season, an errant back-pass that led to Birmingham City’s opener and Dimi Konstantopoulos’ dismissal in Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s. Less than 24 hours later, and he was due to be the guest of honour at the North-East leg of the Together for England Roadshow, a community initiative jointly run by the MFC Foundation and the Football Association’s Disability Football Development Fund.

Plenty of players would have come up with a convenient excuse not to attend. A sore hamstring perhaps, or a sudden bout of cold. Not Gibson. Aware that he might end up being the butt of some uncomfortable jokes amongst a group of supporters who regard him as one of their own, he still turned up to take part in some impromptu table tennis, golf and archery with a group of disabled youngsters and their parents.

“Good luck against Leeds at the weekend,” said one proud dad with a glint in his eye. “And try not to make any mistakes, eh...” Such is life when you’re the hometown hero of a club that stands on the cusp of winning promotion back to the Premier League.

“It’s brilliant to be doing all of this for a club that means so much to me,” said Gibson, who was raised in Nunthorpe as a passionate Middlesbrough supporter. “The highs are that much higher and the lows are that much lower.

“If you make a mistake, it’s such a massive low point when you care that much about the club. Everyone obviously cares about their career, but when you combine that with a real love of the club, it’s something very special. When you hit a high point, or a low point at the opposite end of the scale, everything feels that bit more intense.

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“It really is a bit of a rollercoaster, but that’s football and I wouldn’t want it any other way. To get the opportunity to play for my town and hopefully achieve things for my town is something that gives me immense pride.”

That pride overrides any residual embarrassment from Wednesday evening’s mistake, and means that when Gibson takes to the field against Leeds United this lunch-time, he will do so with a steely determination to atone for an error that was completely out of keeping with the quality of his displays throughout the campaign.

As a fan who continues to live and socialise amongst his fellow supporters, Gibson does not need the importance of the next two-and-a-half months spelling out to him.

Promotion would not just mean the return of top-flight football next season, it would also provide a much-needed shot in the arm for a town and region that has suffered more than its fair share of setbacks in recent years.

Gibson knows that, having inherited his uncle Steve’s pride and passion for the town that has nurtured him. Each and every member of the Middlesbrough squad would celebrate promotion, but no one, aside perhaps from Jonathan Woodgate, would feel the same emotional attachment as the club’s latest homegrown centre-half.

“You can sense that the town is really buzzing about Middlesbrough at the minute,” he said. “The whole focus is on the team pushing for promotion, and you can feel there’s a good feeling and a real buzz around the town just now.

“People think we can achieve something this year, and that’s great. The excitement is back, and if we’re honest, we haven’t really had that feeling for a long time.

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“I can’t really remember it since we’ve come down – it’s never felt as good as this. People really believe that this could be our year, and it’s up to us to make it happen.”

A win against local rivals Leeds this lunch-time would help, and with the game kicking off at 12.15pm, Boro will open up a four-point advantage over Bournemouth and Derby County if they claim maximum points for what would be the sixth home game in a row.

For the first time this season, they find themselves at the head of affairs having played the same number of games as all of their leading promotion rivals, and having worked so hard to take over top spot,  Gibson and his team-mates are not about to cede their advantage lightly.

“It’s in our hands now,” he said. “It’s good not needing anything from anybody else – we know it’s down to us and what we do.

“I’d rather have it like that. Some people might think there’s more pressure on you when you’re at the top of the table, but I’d much rather be in this position.

“We’ve got good players, a fantastic squad and great staff. The onus is on us to go and take the league away from other people, and we can start doing that by going four points ahead by beating Leeds.”