Dimi Konstantopoulos: 'It was just a matter of time until I signed a new deal with Boro'

Super stopper Dimi Konstantopoulos said it was “just a matter of time” until he signed a new deal with the club.

And having penned a one-year extension to his contract yesterday, the 36-year-old is now focused on capping off a memorable season by winning promotion with Boro.

The keeper’s deal was due to expire in the summer but Aitor Karanka always stressed he was keen to tie down the stopper for at least one more season.

After putting pen to paper on the deal, Kontantopoulos said: “Obviously the gaffer is happy and I’m happy.

“We knew from the start of the discussions that it was just a matter of time until we got it done.

“Now we just have to carry on what we’re doing.”

Konstantopoulos was back between the sticks for Boro on Tuesday night, having served a one-game suspension against Leeds, and kept his 14th clean sheet of the campaign as Boro got back to winning ways against Bolton.

The experienced keeper has established himself as No.1 under Aitor Karanka ever since Tomas Mejias suffered an injury almost exactly a year ago on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday.

Dimi Konstantopoulos celebrates the win over Brentford

“Things went well for me when the new gaffer came in,” he told the club’s website.

“Aitor had a proper look at me and liked me.

“I was given my chance and since then things have got better and better and I hope that continues.

“The Premier League is the target. I think everything’s set and ready for this club to return there - we’re trying our hardest and have been doing well so far.

“We know nothing’s done yet and we have some games to go. We have to approach each one as a very difficult game and try to get three points from each one.”

Boro go to Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow looking to keep a firm grip on a top two spot in the Championship and determined to keep pace with Derby at the league’s summit.

Konstantopoulos added: “It’s up to us to carry on doing what we’re doing and not looking at the other results because if we can keep winning and picking up points, it doesn’t matter what the other teams are doing because it’s completely up to us.”