Aitor Karanka says 2014 has been an “amazing year”.
Over the past 12 months, the Boro boss has overhauled the first team squad and guided the club out of the bottom half of the Championship and into the top six.
He acknowledges none of that would have been possible without the support of chairman Steve Gibson and all of the staff at Rockliffe Park and the Riverside Stadium.
“It has been an amazing year for me because it has been my first complete year as a manager and I am very pleased with my time here,” he said.
“The year is improving every single day. We started in January building a team and now, in December, this team is a very strong team and I am optimistic thinking about the future.
“My feelings about this year are very, very good.
“I can’t do it alone,” added Karanka. “I can’t say ‘my year’ thinking about myself. I am also thinking about the whole club.
“I couldn’t do all I have done here without the chairman’s support, the players’ support, the support of all the staff who work here, our fans, we are all a team.”
One thing that’s particularly impressed Karanka over the past year has been the support from the Boro faithful.
Attendances at the Riverside have been on the increase this season peaking with a Boxing Day crowd of 32,277.
Boro travelling support has always been exceptional but this season has witnessed some remarkable turn-outs.
Karanka is certainly grateful for the support, saying the fans can be Boro’s 12th man in 2015.
He said: “My message for the supporters is to express my gratitude to them because since my first day here they have always been behind me, behind the club.
“Everyday our supporters are increasing and the last month it has been amazing - in the game against Wigan; against Blackburn we had 7,000 fans, on Boxing Day we had 32,000 people, so I would just like to express my gratitude again.
“The fans can be our 12th player in January.”
Karanka insists he learned a huge amount about management in 2014 but little about the division that he didn’t already know by January 2014.
“You learn something new every day but my feelings about the Championship are the same that I had two months after arriving here,” he explained.
“That was you can beat everyone and everyone can beat you, so it’s not different.
“Now I know more about the club and the players, about management, because this time last year I had only been a manager for two months and now I have been a manager for 14 months.
“It’s not a big period of time but I am learning every day and I think and I hope my management on the pitch, on the training ground and in the changing room is improving.”
No comments:
Post a Comment