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Jonathan Woodgate says Middlesbrough must prove they can be consistent to win promotion from the Championship this season.

Boro suffered opening day defeat at Barnsley before picking up their first points with victory over Burnley at the Riverside on Tuesday night.

"It's the team that's most consistent that will go up and that's what we need to prove," Woodgate told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Tees.

"Hopefully we can do that to be in the top two."

Woodgate, 32, re-joined Middlesbrough on a free transfer from Stoke in the summer, having originally left the club for Tottenham in an £8m deal four and a half years ago.

The experienced defender is targeting promotion to the Premier League, but concedes success will be tough to achieve.

He said: "When you look at the league you couldn't really pick out a team and say they're definites.

"Everyone was saying Bolton were the favourites at the start of the season and they got turned over by Burnley 2-0, and then we beat Burnley 3-2. It's inconsistency with this league."

The former Leeds, Newcastle and Real Madrid man said he is enjoying his new defensive partnership with Australian Rhys Williams.

"Rhys is top notch. He's so casual on the ball for a centre-half it's fantastic," Woodgate said.

"He's a good player and we can still learn from each other."