We can stave off Ag-ony
® DEJECTED Middlesbrough fans have been urged to keep believing ahead of today’s home game with Burnley.
The mood on Teesside has been grim in the wake of a 4-2 midweek defeat at Hull which stretched Boro’s winless league run to 13 games and leaves them seven points from safety.
But caretaker boss Steve Agnew claims the players feel disappointment rather than despair.
“We’ve had a good meeting and they’re all feeling positive,” he said.
“They all know what we have to do and it starts with three points against Burnley.
Backing
“Of course it’s tough. They’ve got to be right mentally and in their game management but we’re confident we can do it.
“Beating Burnley is all we’re looking to do right now because that will take us closer to the rest and put some pressure on everyone else.
“The fans have been magnificent this season and they need to carry on backing us because we’ve still got so much to fight for.”
Agnew does not regret his cavalier game plan at Hull, a far cry from the way the team was set up under former boss Aitor Karanka.
But he admits the balance was not right, with the Boro defence creaking badly.
He added: “It is clear we need to score goals and to win matches and that means going on the attack.
“But we were caught out when we lost the ball at Hull. It was a big night and maybe we got caught up in all the emotion.
“Taking the lead and knowing how to deal with it has not happened for a while – but we’ve spoken about that and learned from it.”