Sunday 6 March 2016 13:49, UK
Aitor Karanka has praised Gaston Ramirez for his match-winning performance against Wolves, and admits he is surprised how quickly he has adapted to the Championship.
The Middlesbrough midfielder scored twice in the 2-1 victory at the Riverside to put Boro top of the table, having moved on loan from Southampton in January.
And Karanka says that although he knew the Uruguayan had the quality to succeed in the Championship, he did not believe he would be putting in performances like this so soon.
He told Sky Sports "Gaston is getting better every single game, I know that when he came here he was a really good player.
"He knows the country, the style, so I knew for us he was going to be a really important player but that it was going to take time for him.
"But he is playing really well I think sooner than I was expecting. But it wasn't just about Gaston, it was about the team."
With 12 games remaining, Boro are among the strong favourites to return to the Premier League following a seven-year absence, but Karanka is not thinking that far ahead.
"It's always in the last games [that promotion is decided]. And for that reason we have to think about ourselves, and have to win our games, and we can't think about promotion or automatic promotion.
"We have a really difficult game against Rotherham on Tuesday, because sometimes those kind of games are the most difficult when everyone is thinking we are going to win easy they are the most difficult.
"I have always said that after the January transfer market we are better side than we were last season, more experienced and with more quality.
"April is going to be very busy as we have eight games in a month, so we will need to keep them motivated and ready to play."
For Wolves, who have won just once in the last nine games and sit 13th in the Championship, manager Kenny Jackett admitted their opponents were too strong for them.
He told Sky Sports: "Middlesbrough were just a bit too strong for us. We couldn't quite get to their standards to be honest with you.
"We struggled down our right-hand side at the start of both halves, and that opened up Ramirez to come into the No 10 position and we didn't do well enough to get close to them.
"Middlesbrough are a good side and had the edge all night. Our aspiration is top four, and the players have to evolve, improve and keep working hard to bridge that gap."
