Sunday, March 8, 2015

Aitor Karanka: Dealing with pressure will decide promotion race


Aitor Karanka says coping with pressure is the key to winning promotion.


The Boro boss insists he relished being involved in high-pressure games as a player with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, saying they come hand-in-hand with a successful season.


Karanka believes the teams that best handle the intensity of the final 10 Championship fixtures will be the ones that win promotion.


He said: “When I was a player I loved to play under pressure because the most important games are the games players like to play in.


“But not all of the players are the same, some can manage better than others.


“Every single game from now we are going to be under pressure and the team that manages the pressure will have the best chance of achieving their goals.”


Outlining other issues that will prove crucial during the run-in, he added: “Team which have better and more determined players can have an advantage, as will the teams that are fresh (physically) because this league is very tough.”


Boro slipped to fourth after losing 2-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The top four clubs are all on 66 points with Bournemouth top of the pile, Derby second and Watford in third.


Boro are next in action on Saturday when they host Ipswich at the Riverside.


Karanka has vowed that the coaching staff and the players will be working hard to rediscover the form that earned the club five wins in succession earlier this year.


Boro have won only two of their last six league matches and the head coach is far from happy with the way his team has been playing.


“I don’t like the last three or four weeks,” he said. “We need to work hard in the next week to get back to how we were playing a few weeks ago.”



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