Middlesbrough’s promotion hopes suffered another blow after they were beaten 1-0 by managerless Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day.

Former Boro midfielder Adam Reach scored the only goal of the game as a miserable festive period continued on Teesside. The gap to Championship leaders Leeds now stands at 10 points, with just two points keeping them in the play-off places.

Over 30,000 fans witnessed a poor display at the Riverside Stadium, with the players booed off at both half and full-time. Pulis admits that is part of the game his players must accept in tough periods.

“They scored with their first shot on goal and the disappointing thing was a couple of the lads dropped their heads,” he said.

“That went right through until half-time and whether you like it or not, when you have fans that back you when you do things well, they are going to let you know when they aren’t. You’ve got to be big enough to accept that.

“This is a big club and the supporters expect and demand a certain level.”

The home side were looking to build on their first win in five games at Reading on Saturday and they started on the front foot.

But the energy and verve on show soon gave way for a sense of trepidation familiar in recent weeks and the decrease in intensity proved costly. After finding a foothold in the game, Wednesday took the lead on 20 minutes.

Reach controlled Barry Bannan’s lofted pass to the back post before finishing neatly past Darren Randolph from a tight angle.

The goal only served as vindication of the switch in momentum, and Boro continued to struggle to create chances. They left themselves far too open in midfield, which allowed Bannan, a thorn in their side all afternoon, to dictate the play.

No clear-cut chances were carved out before the break, but the hosts did see two penalty appeals waved away in the last 10 minutes of the first half. The first, for handball against Michael Hector, appeared to be outside the box, before Britt Assombalonga went down to no avail.

After hearing the reaction to the half-time whistle from the stands, Pulis responded by replacing Dael Fry with Jordan Hugill, but that didn’t disrupt Wednesday’s rhythm, let alone create any for themselves.

Just before the hour mark, Bannan linked up well with Steven Fletcher. The Scot went in on goal, but Randolph thwarted him from close range to smother the ball.

Boro continued to press forward with a lot of endeavour, but little quality. Substitute Marcus Tavernier brought energy and, moments after replacing Adam Clayton, he saw a shot deflected for a corner before heading straight at Westwood.

Their best chance came and went when another substitute, Lewis Wing, struck agonisingly wide of the left-hand post with seven minutes remaining.

In the end, though, Wednesday didn’t have to be at their best to achieve their second successive victory, with a decision still to be a made on their next permanent boss.