Aitor Karanka: 'It was a very important win, we have to keep going in the same way'

Aitor Karanka admitted some half-time home truths helped spark his side into life against Charlton Athletic.

In a week that saw Karanka and Lee Tomlin land the Championship Manager and Player of the Month awards for January, Boro beat the Addicks 3-1 at the Riverside to make it five wins on the bounce.

Patrick Bamford set the hosts on course with a fifth-minute opener, but afterwards Boro struggled to shake themselves out of second gear in a drab first-half display.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson's stunning leveller before the break threatened to derail Boro's automatic promotion hopes, and Karanka admitted strong words were said to his players at the break.

"It was a very important win as we haven't played our best, especially in the first half," Karanka said.

"I told them at half-time that to score the first goal was the worst thing that could have happened.

"After this week, especially after we beat Man City two weeks ago, and this week with the awards and everyone speaking very well about Middlesbrough, when you score a goal in the first 10 minutes you can think that everything was done.

Boro players celebrate after going ahead

"The players, I think, thought on the pitch that everything was done and at half-time I told them we needed to change our mentality and play how we know we can play.

"When we think we're very good, usually we play very bad. But when we think we're a very good team playing as a team, we play well.

"We weren't thinking that Charlton were a weaker opponent or that it would be an easy game, my complaints were the way we thought about ourselves."

Boro's victory was all the more important after pacesetters Bournemouth and Derby both picked up convincing wins, while play-off hopefuls Brentford, Watford and Norwich also notched maximum points.

After starting February in the perfect fashion, Boro remain one point off the Championship summit - and victory at Blackpool on Tuesday could send Karanka's side top of the table with Bournemouth and Derby locking horns on the South Coast.

"Now it's three months until the finish but each point that you lose now is difficult to recover," Karanka added.

"Bournemouth and Derby are winning their games so we have to keep going in the same way and we have to be strong."

We have another difficult game on Tuesday because everyone thinks it will be easy because Blackpool are at the bottom of the table, but it will be difficult as the pitch is not good.

"I don't want to say afterwards that we've lost points or lost the game because of the pitch because I don't like excuses, but it will be difficult."