Karanka wants Boro focus back

Middlesbrough face their third away fixture in eight days at West Brom tomorrow (1.30pm kick-off ).

Last Sunday’s derby victory at Sunderland was followed by a disappointing EFL Cup exit at Fulham on Wednesday, although boss Aitor Karanka is hoping that reverse will serve to focus minds once again.

He said: “If we had won easily against Fulham, I could think we would have arrived to play West Brom maybe thinking that we are better than we are.

“But after the game on Wednesday, I am completely sure that the team knows that we need to win again. We have to move on.”

Boro will travel without a recognised left-back after George Friend (calf ) and Fabio da Silva (knee) both joined James Husband (dislocated shoulder) on the casualty list, although midfielder Adam Forshaw should be in high spirits after signing a new four-year contract.

Forshaw may not enjoy the profile of some of Boro’s recent recruits, but he is a man who is never far from his head coach’s thoughts.

Karanka said: “He is the kind of player who always wants to play.

“For him, he doesn’t care if it’s one minute, 30 seconds or 90 minutes, he goes on to the pitch with the same intensity. When you him, you know that he is more than capable of playing in the Premier League, and he has shown everybody that he can play.”