Hellberg's hot start & Foxes find feet - Aaron McLean's EFL takeaways

Former Hull City, Bradford and Peterborough striker and Final Score pundit Aaron McLean gives his five takeaways from what we learned across the Championship, League One and League Two on Saturday.

Hellberg's instant impact at Boro

Swede Kim Hellberg has made a flying start at Middlesbrough, winning his first four games with the latest being a 3-1 victory over QPR at the Riverside.

McLean: "I think he's done a fantastic job - four wins from four games, he has got Boro seven points clear of third place.

"What he has done brilliantly is he's kept the feel-good factor. It is not very often a manager gets the opportunity to come into a club that are flying high in the division, but he has done that and he's managed to continue the momentum.

"He has not disrupted what Rob Edwards did prior to him, he has just continued it.

"Yes, he will want to put his own stamp on things, but at the moment, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

"They have closed the gap on leaders Coventry to five points, but I think what they need to do is just focus on themselves. I do not think they really need to worry about looking at Coventry.

"I think for them, it is just about right how many points do we need to accumulate to get promotion? And if you accumulate those points, you do not need to really worry about anyone else."

Leicester can build on Ipswich win

Leicester produced their performance of the season in beating Ipswich 3-1, with a sensational strike from Abdul Fatawu from inside his own half.

McLean: "I think you have to take everything happening off the pitch into consideration, but at the end of the day, they are a former Premier League club and really they should be doing better.

"I think they will all hold their hands up and say they have underachieved up until now.

"I think it was important they got a result against Ipswich because Kieran McKenna's side were making a charge towards the play-offs. It was important they sent out a message that they're still very much here.

"The new year will be when we really see the best of Leicester.

"I think them, together with the other relegated sides, Ipswich and Southampton, are getting back to some kind of normality that we are used to seeing from them in the Championship and this was a big, big performance from them.

"Abdul Fatawu's goal is just incredible. I think anybody who has the audacity to even attempt that has got real quality.

"When you produce a moment of absolute genius, as he has, then you can do nothing but applaud it."

Norwich must kick on after beating Southampton

Norwich beat Southampton 2-1 to record back-to-back home wins and boost their hopes of beating the drop.

McLean: "Norwich's win over Southampton was huge for them and it was only their second home win of the season.

"It's been such a disappointing season for them. They went into the season with such optimism, but it just didn't work out for Liam Manning.

"They brought in Philippe Clement and they're beginning to turn the corner. They have won two, drawn two and lost two under Clement and I think now they can see light at the end of the tunnel.

"They have won their last two at Carrow Road and the home crowd will now start to get behind their team and start to feel better about life.

"They have given themselves a real opportunity of climbing out of that relegation zone and they're only three points away from safety.

"It was all doom and gloom just a few weeks ago and now they have given themselves a lifeline.

"It's about building on that and this win goes a long way to doing that."

Bolton can finally win promotion

Bolton's 2-1 win over Exeter extended their unbeaten run to seven league games with growing optimism Steven Schumacher's side could make a return to the Championship after being relegated in 2019.

McLean: "Bolton are a huge club, a club that should not be in League One. They have lost in the play-offs in two of the last three seasons and they just did not turn up against Oxford in the final 19 months ago.

"What they have done is they have made the Toughsheet Community Stadium into a fortress.

"They are the only team in League One to be unbeaten at home all season with the longest unbeaten home record in the top four tiers. They have also only conceded five league goals at their own ground this season and no one wants to go there.

"Steven Schumacher has the experience of being promoted and he has got a team, and a squad, who are more than capable of mounting a real challenge in the new year.

"The Christmas period will be very telling because if they can come through that unscathed, then they have a clear run at it for the second half of the season.

"So I have huge optimism that Bolton will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season."

Holloway 'nothing short of incredible'

Swindon are just two points behind League Two leaders Walsall in third after beating struggling Bristol Rovers 3-0 with Ian Holloway doing an impressive job at the County Ground since taking over in October 2024.

McLean: "I think the job Ian Holloway has done at Swindon is nothing short of incredible. When he took over, they were in the relegation zone.

"He guided then to safety and then this season, he has taken it a step further and they are very much in the race for automatic promotion.

"He was out of the game for nearly four years when he took over at Swindon 14 months ago, and he clearly still loves the game. I think that's his biggest strength - his passion for the game.

"I remember a few years ago, Ian Holloway managed me in a legends charity game. His team talk before the game was all about going out, putting smiles on faces, enjoying it and most of all, winning.

"His passion came across then, even though it was just a charity game, and I have no doubt that's the same message he's carried with him his whole career.

"He has taken that to Swindon and that's why they're going out, playing entertaining football and enjoying it absolutely."

Aaron McLean was speaking to BBC Sport England's David Anderson