England's Patrick Bamford 'loving every minute' at Boro

The Middlesbrough striker, on loan from Chelsea, has helped fire the north-east club into contention for automatic promotion from the Championship this season and is likely to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad on Thursday.

And, after scoring Boro’s winner at promotion rivals and another of his former loan clubs Derby County on Tuesday, following two goals against Ipswich Town last weekend, it’s fair to say Bamford is enjoying life at the moment.

"I’m loving it at the minute, I can’t really complain," Bamford told the England programme for March’s fixtures.

"[The Championship] is crazy, it’s so close between the top five or six clubs in the division so every game and result counts between now and the end of the season – it keeps you focused.

"We had a bit of a blip a few weeks ago, but in the Championship, that seems to be normal. 

"Every team goes through one of them, you just have to come out of the other side of it and keep going."

First up for the Three Lions is a trip to face Czech Republic in Prague next Friday, followed by a clash with Germany at a familiar venue for Bamford - Boro’s Riverside Stadium on Monday 30 March.

With the Euro Finals taking place in Czech Republic this June, the squad are set to stay at their summer base in Olomouc for four days prior to the first game.

Bamford in action against Portugal in November

And Bamford believes the planning ahead of the Euros is perfect for the players to start gearing up for the Finals, when they will face Portugal, Sweden and Italy in the initial group stage.

“We’ll be staying at the same place where we will be in the summer, so it will be nice to see what the set-up is like and get settled,” added Bamford.

"Tomas Kalas, who is also on loan at Middlesbrough with me from Chelsea, plays for their Under-21s and he was telling me about what the Czech Republic will be like.

"He said in the summer that it will be quite hot out there, it won’t be quite like that in March, but we can start to get a feel for the place.

"He told me that they are a team who like to fight for every ball so they tend to wear their heart on their sleeve but he didn’t want to give too much away, with them being a competitor."

Bamford has been in eye-catching form with Middlesbrough this season

The former Nottingham Forest youngster had been capped by England at U18 and U19 level prior to joining Southgate’s U21s group in November 2013, but has yet to experience a Euro Finals or World Cup with the Three Lions.

And with focus on this year’s tournament increasing, Bamford revealed his England squad-mates have bought into the approach and belief instilled by Southgate and his staff.

"As a group, we need to start preparing for it and getting our mindset ready for the summer," he explained.

"In our last meet-up, we spoke as a group about what it takes to be a winner and making sure that everyone in the team believes. The outcome was that everyone believed that we are capable of winning the Euros.

"That’s the hardest part really, getting the mindset right and then the rest of it comes down to how you perform on the pitch."

You can read the exclusive interview with Bamford in full in the England programme for March’s development fixtures. Order your copy by clicking here.

For more details on how you can get tickets to see England Under-21s in action against Germany at the Riverside Stadium click here.