Saturday 21 February 2015 13:51, UK
Aitor Karanka has urged his Middlesbrough players to defend their position at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
Karanka believes there is no room for complacency as his Middlesbrough side sit just one point ahead of promotion rivals Bournemouth and Derby.
The 41-year-old admits the club have exceeded expectations this term, but now need to continue to play with the same confidence that has put them in a strong position.
Middlesbrough face Leeds on Saturday and will be hoping to put on a more positive display than they did in the corresponding fixture at Elland Road, in August, when they lost 1-0.
Karanka knows it will be difficult but feels his players are a tight knit group, capable of achieving their aims.
“There was pressure when we played against Birmingham, because we felt pressure to get in this position. I hope now tomorrow we are in this position we play in the way we know to play, and we can be confident and consistent because now we are top of the table and there is a long way to the finish.”
“This is the biggest challenge because we have been working for six, seven months. I think nobody thought we could be in this position now and we are in this position because all of them players are working very, very well.
"They are very close in the changing room, all of them are perfect and earned this position so now we have to defend it but it is going to be very very difficult”
Watch Middlesbrough vs Leeds on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.00pm on Saturday 21 February.
