Aitor had no more to give us

WE should not feel too much sympathy for Aitor Karanka.

Boro’s former boss took the club as far as he could and in doing so restored a lot of good times to successstarved Teesside.

Clearly he had finally reached the end of the road at the Riverside, especially with his intransigence in bringing attacking enterprise into the side at crucial times.

The player problems were just as important. It can be prove virtually impossible for a manager to “get back” a dressing room once he has lost the respect of many of the players.

If anything, maybe Aitor should have gone two or three weeks earlier – for example immediately following the defeat at Crystal Palace at the end of February.

Without any significant changes to the playing style, or the overall team spirit, then Boro would not have survived in the top flight under Karanka.

However, it’s been a good learning experience for the manager. We must not forget that this is his very first taste of football management.

He will benefit greatly from his time with the Boro, especially as he has seen his methods bring some success.

Job offers elsewhere are sure to follow. It will be interesting to see whether Karanka wants to stay in this country – after all he and his family have thoroughly enjoyed their time here – or whether he returns to the Continent.

The bottom line, however, is that wherever Karanka goes he must learn from his experiences and develop a system which still brings his future clubs defensive benefits, but also provides greater attacking capabilities.