AITOR KARANKA feels the disruptions and distractions caused by the transfer window are partially to blame for Middlesbrough’s three-match slump as they look to return to the top of the Championship tonight.

Boro have not won since January 12, when they were fortunate to leave Brentford with three points and that poor run of results since has seen them surrender a six-point cushion they had over the chasing pack.

Boro, level on points with leaders Hull, can still move clear if they win their game in hand at MK Dons and that is why Karanka is trying not to be too downbeat by a return of just one point from the last nine available.

But the head coach has still been looking for reasons to explain why the same set of players who went on a nine-match unbeaten run – including eight wins – in the league have suddenly stuttered and have struggled to break down opponents.

Karanka said: “I thought I had players who wanted to leave. I couldn’t use them and those who were playing knew they were going to play because I didn’t have a replacement.

“For that reason I couldn’t use the players from the bench, so those who were playing I couldn’t take off if they weren’t performing.

“The players who are here now want to be here. That’s not the same as one month ago. The players who are playing now also know we have opposition on the bench to replace them.

“The previous two games against Bristol City and Forest I felt it was because of the market. There were players here who were trying to leave, thinking about leaving, others were arriving, and that was the problem.

“I think that was not ideal because I could not manage in the way I would have liked to manage. The last game was two weeks earlier and maybe we lost the focus. We were the only team who didn’t play for that long, maybe we lost concentration too.”

Karanka allowed Diego Fabbrini to return to Watford from his loan early so that he could complete a £1.5m move to Birmingham, while Spanish striker Kike completed a switch to Eibar after weeks of uncertainty and talk of interest from Fulham and Wolves.

But Boro did sign Jordan Rhodes, Gaston Ramirez, Julien de Sart, Ritchie de Laet and Kike Sola to give the squad a fresh look ahead of the final few months of the season. With that side of things clearer, he is desperate to see improvements tonight.

He said: “We are not scoring because we are not creating chances. You don’t create chances when you don’t play well. We have to recover our style, our intensity and when we play in that way then the chances will arrive again and the goals will too.”

Karanka has promised to make a “few changes” at MK Dons with Tomas Kalas expected to be the man he turns to as a replacement for the injured Daniel Ayala. The Spanish centre-back went over on his ankle against Blackburn but the problem has not been deemed serious by the head coach.

Rhodes and Ramirez are both in Karanka's thoughts, while he will try to avoid splitting up the midfield pairing of Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton even though both are on nine yellow cards; one more would trigger a two-match ban.

Karanka said: “I have to think about choosing the right players. We have a game almost a week later at Leeds. We have the right players to replace them if they do get booked. Two weeks ago I would have been more concerned but now I am calm.”

Boro: Konstantopoulos; Nsue, Kalas, Gibson, de Laet; Clayton, Leadbitter; Adomah, Ramirez, Downing; Nugent.