New Boro boss relishes the challenge

STEVE AGNEW insists he has hardly lost a wink of sleep since being handed the task of dragging Middlesbrough back from the Premier League precipice.

The 51-year-old was asked to step into Aitor Karanka’s shoes for the final 11 games of the season when the Spaniard left the Riverside Stadium on March 16.

A game into his reign and the club are five points adrift of safety, and facing a seemingly pivotal week during which they will go head-to-head with fellow strugglers Swansea and Hull inside four days.

However, Agnew is relishing the opportunity.

He said: ‘I genuinely don’t feel the pressure. The pressure is something I enjoy and because I enjoy it, then you get through it.

‘When I go home, I’m quite relaxed.’ Boro have not won a league game since December 17, when they beat the Swans 3-0 on Teesside, and have collected only four of the 33 points they have contested since.

Swansea were similarly afflicted when Paul Clement was parachuted in as Bob Bradley’s replacement on January 1, and he has since guided them to five victories in 10 league outings to give them genuine hope of escaping the drop.

Agnew, who may need a similar return to keep Boro up, said of Clement: ‘He’s had a really good coaching career and he’s an English coach who I think is really, really talented. At a time when there’s a lot of criticism towards English coaches, I hope – after Sunday – he becomes really successful.’