Karanka insists Boro’s luck will turn
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka believes bad luck has been responsible for his side’s sluggish start on their return to the Premier League – and warned his side to take nothing for granted against fellow strugglers Hull tonight.
Despite a recent improvement in performances, Boro go into tonight’s Riverside Stadium clash sitting just one point above Mike Phelan’s Tigers, whose own poor form has seen them branded relegation favourites.
Hard-earned points at Arsenal and Manchester City and a narrow home defeat to Chelsea have raised hopes of survival on Teesside, but manager Karanka knows his side’s previous failures against socalled lesser teams have cost them dear.
Karanka said: “I think for example against Stoke we could have won and against Watford and Crystal Palace we didn’t deserve to lose.
“But the truth is we have 12 points and one day we will not deserve to win and we will win.
“When you have been working in the Championship for two and a half years and know how tough every single game is, having the opportunity to work against the best teams in the world is amazing, but we know we have to improve every single day.”
The significance of tonight is not lost on Hull keeper David Marshall.
“It’s one of those that’s a huge game for us. We have to go and put on a performance,” he said.
“I think it was a disappointing away game at Sunderland when we lost against another team who you would expect to be down there.
“But Middlesbrough have been on a reasonable run of form. We’ve been a lot better at home recently, so we’re looking to take that confidence into the game.”
The Scot is set to return in place of EFL Cup hero keeper Eldin Jakupovic.