Middlesbrough boss Karanka not concerned by speculation over future

Aitor Karanka says he is not concerned about losing his job after Middlesbrough dropped into the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City.

Boro’s winless run in the league was extended to 10 matches on Saturday courtesy of Marko Arnautovic’s first-half double at the bet365 Stadium.

However, Karanka is confident his side can stay up and insists speculation over his future is not a distraction.

“I can’t be concerned about things not under my control,” the Spaniard told BBC Sport.

“In this kind of moment we need to be positive. We have to know we have done good things so far.

“We have to keep believing in this group of players. Until the last day we will keep fighting.

“We are in the bottom three and we need to work harder to leave those positions.”

FT: The Potters are unbeaten in eight home games following today’s 2-0 win over @Boro #SCFC 2-0 #Boro pic.twitter.com/oSJNtrnair

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) March 4, 2017

Stoke boss Mark Hughes was delighted after his team bounced back from a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Tottenham last time out.

“We didn’t do
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ourselves any favours at Tottenham last week. We had something to prove,” Hughes told BBC Sport.

“It was a deserved lead in the first half, two good goals from Marko Arnautovic. We could have won more comprehensively.

“When he [Arnautovic] times those runs in behind he is very difficult to knock off his stride, he’s a big guy with lots of power. He’s got that potential.”