Saturday 29 October 2016 18:46, UK
Aitor Karanka believes that every Premier League point is "gold" for Middlesbrough after his side's 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
Boro went into Saturday's game at the Riverside without a win in the league since August, but goals from Gaston Ramirez and Stewart Downing helped them to a 2-0 victory in Karanka's 150th competitive game in charge.
"I think it was a really good game for us," Karanka told Sky Sports. "I don't care how many games I have, the most important thing is the performance once again and the three points, and especially at home because our crowd was used to coming here every single game last season and seeing us win most of the games.
"With this performance, after the last three performances, I think we showed the right way.
"Every single point in the Premier League is gold for us. If we want to add points we have to suffer a lot. For example, Bournemouth were a team who were in the Championship three years ago, but now they are a better team, they have better players and one more year experience than us.
"We know that every single game and every single point is going to be difficult for us. But once again, playing in this way, showing everybody how together we are, is the way."
Ramirez's stunning opener was the highlight of the match, but his manager wasn't happy singling out the Uruguayan after an impressive team display.
"We were having problems in the first 15-20 minutes, playing in the same way that we played last weekend against Arsenal, but we were better with the 4-3-3. Gaston showed once again how good he is, but after Gaston there are another ten players."
And Karanka also defended his striker Alvaro Negredo, who went another game without a goal but put in an impressive showing regardless, including an assist for Downing's strike.
"As a coach, I can't just see the goals that he's scoring or not, I have to see the big picture," Karanka added. "And the big picture is that Alvaro's an amazing striker. With him on the pitch he can hold the ball, he can assist like he today and he's a massive player for us."
