Aitor Karanka hopeful of Middlesbrough rebound against Swansea
Friday 16 December 2016 15:01, UK
Aitor Karanka is hopeful Middlesbrough can bounce back quickly from their Liverpool disappointment when they face Swansea on Saturday.
Boro were blown away by Jurgen Klopp's side in the second half of their Premier League clash on Wednesday and the 3-0 defeat dropped them within three points of the relegation zone.
But Karanka felt that was the first time his side has been so badly outclassed this season and says there is no reason for supporters to panic over their league position.
The Spaniard said: "Apart from 15 minutes against Everton and the first half against Tottenham we had competed against every single team so it was tough for us, but we have to forget that second half and look at the way we are going.
"I don't want to put on the pressure because we are in December and we are playing well, we are playing with consistency and creating chances.
"I would like us to play the same way [against Swansea] as we did against Hull, especially because we are at home."
Swansea's chief goalscoring threat in recent weeks has been Fernando Llorente, and Karanka is well aware of the class of his former Athletic Bilbao team-mate.
"I know Fernando very well - I played with him and I have a good relationship with him," he added.
"But behind him they have players like [Gylfi] Sigurdsson and Jefferson Montero and two or three others I know, so it is going to be a tough game but once again we just have to focus on ourselves.
"The main thing for us is to be as organised as we can because they score a lot of goals - but they also concede goals.
"I want to win the game, so if we win it 5-4 it is not a problem for me, or if we win 1-0 it is not a problem either."
