AITOR KARANKA believes his Middlesbrough squad can learn from defeat in the play-offs at Wembley and become stronger as a result.

The Spaniard returned to Rockliffe Park with his squad on Monday, six weeks on from the 2-0 loss against Norwich City, and expects his players to draw on the experiences of the campaign as they prepare for another crack at the Premier League.

“The thing that we had to do is forget as soon as possible that defeat,” said Karanka, who made Alex Baptiste his first signing of the summer on Monday.

“We had to learn from that and all last season because I think it was an amazing season, but we needed more experience. Now we have an experience. We will have some new players soon and I want to keep everyone excited.”

Karanka was keen for the football to come out on the first day of training after giving his squad stringent fitness plans to stick to.

“I think everything has changed now especially with our methodology,” said Karanka, who is taking his second pre-season since becoming Boro head coach in 2013.

“I’m very happy with everything, especially with the ball. The new lads are happy with that. They have to work with the ball out.

“They have all come back in a good way and it was a good first day.”

Meanwhile, new signing Baptiste was impressed by the intensity on his first days with the club since signing on Monday.

Baptiste already had a week’s worth of training under his belt as previous club Bolton returned earlier than Boro, but admits his first day at Rockliffe Park was a nervous one.

“I’m really happy to be here, the first training session was proper intense – it was brilliant,” said Baptiste. “So like I say, I’m really happy and hopefully I can do well here.

“I’ve had a week at Bolton so I’ve kind of got through that (first day back) stage, but Monday was my first day here so the nerves were kicking in and the training was different to Bolton so I was nervous as well as all the other lads.

“It’s a new environment and moving up here from where I live now is a completely fresh challenge for me and it’s one that my family and I are really looking forward to.”

Baptiste wants a fresh start after a difficult spell at the Macron Stadium. “I met the manager on Saturday and he’s fantastic,” said the defender, who spent a season on loan at Blackburn Rovers. “He has standards that he wants everyone to abide to and like I say, it’s a new challenge for me and I’m so happy to be here.

“It’s a new start for me, it didn’t quite work out at Bolton. I had a fantastic year at Blackburn last season and my challenges are always the same.

“I give 100 per cent every game and I’m an honest lad. That’s me in a nutshell. I’ll try my hardest for the squad and be good around the place.

“That’s it, I can play anywhere across the back four and I’ve got the same ambitions as everyone here and that’s what they can expect.”

Boro are still waiting to hear back from West Ham United over their bid submitted for winger Stewart Downing.