TOMAS KALAS expects Middlesbrough to be even better next season than they were last term after confirming a season-long loan with the club.

The Chelsea defender, who spent three months of last season on loan at the Riverside, has agreed a deal to return to Teesside for the whole of next term.

He was given permission to join up with Middlesbrough's training camp in Marbella at the start of the week, even though his new loan deal was not formally confirmed until this morning.

And with Stewart Downing's £5m move from West Ham having given the entire Middlesbrough squad a considerable boost, Kalas is predicting great things for next season.

"I'd already decided at the end of last season that if Chelsea would like to get me on loan again this would be my first choice, so it was easy when I heard I could stay," said Kalas.

"It's been easy to adapt because I know the lads. I know Marbella because we came here last year, so it's been easy.

"I think we're still building the team. It's a mix of everything. Everyone is still working on it, and I think we will be stronger than before."

Kalas made 17 appearances for Boro last season, with his final outing coming in the 1-0 league win over Norwich in the final month of the campaign.

The terms of his loan deal meant he was unable to feature in the play-offs, and his presence was missed as Aitor Karanka was forced to turn to Dean Whitehead to fill the right-back berth.

His decision to re-sign for next season became even more important last weekend, when summer signing Alex Baptiste suffered a broken leg in the friendly win at York City.

"Obviously I wanted to be involved (in the play-offs)," Kalas told Middlesbrough's official website. "Those (games) were something special at the end because you were playing for promotion and I didn't have a chance to help the team.

"It was a bit disappointing I couldn’t play, but this is a new challenge and hopefully we can get promoted without the play-offs."