'Up the Boro' - Hellberg feels the love as leader

For Kim Hellberg, being head coach of Middlesbrough Football Club is a privilege that he will never take for granted.

The Swede has embraced the club since his arrival from Sweden last November, coming to understand the cultural and social impact it has for people on Teesside.

And with Boro celebrating their '150 Fixture' at home to Wolves on Saturday (15:00 BST) in front of a sell-out crowd at the Riverside Stadium, Hellberg can reflect on how much it means to the community.

"You could feel from the first day that football was something special here," he told BBC Radio Tees.

"It has just grown stronger every day I've been here. I can't go anywhere without people saying to me 'Up the Boro'!

"It feels like everyone is a Boro fan whatever they do. It's a privilege to be the football coach at this club.

"It's important to remind yourself and that gives you even more energy every day to get up to do everything you can to make them happy."

This year marks the 150th anniversary since the club was founded with the game against Wolves chosen to mark it.

While last Sunday, a legacy game was staged in front of another full house as dozens of former Middlesbrough heroes returned from far flung corners of the world to the Teesside town.

They were headlined by superstars Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli, with Hellberg's aim to take Boro back to the Premier League to recapture some of those glories.

Middlesbrough sit in third after eight games of the new Championship season, having recovered from the heartache and controversy of Spygate and play-off failure.

"From last season, everyone has raised their game, everyone together," he said. "It's lovely to be part of and makes you proud of the football club, the supporters, everyone who works with the club.

"That togetherness makes you very proud and also very privileged to be in a role of coaching a brilliant club like Middlesbrough.

"That makes you proud of what we've gone through and how we've worked together to come to this stage.

"When you see the legacy game selling out, now this game selling out and how loud we've been this season, it's absolutely brilliant."