AITOR KARANKA expects Middlesbrough’s defensive performances to determine the outcome of their promotion campaign, and is delighted to see a return of the solidity that characterised his side’s performances prior to their recent wobble.

Boro’s last two home matches have featured clean sheets against Hull and Huddersfield, with their maximum points haul helping lift them back into the automatic promotion places and take them within a point of league leaders Burnley.

Earlier in the season, the Teessiders strung together nine successive shut-outs in a sequence that featured wins over Burnley, Brighton and Derby, and their record of just 25 goals conceded is comfortably the best in the Championship.

With today’s Riverside date with Preston preceding another home game with Reading in four days’ time, there is an opportunity to extend their defensive security, and Karanka is well aware of the importance of keeping things tight at the back.

“The defence is always our key,” said the Boro boss. “When we were not conceding goals in December and January, we were flying up the league.

“With the quality we have up front, we know that most of the time, we are going to score goals. For that reason, to come back again with this kind of (defensive) consistency is really important. The main thing for me is that the players feel really confident on the pitch, both with the ball and without it.

“When we had difficult moments before, we had George (Friend) injured and Dani (Ayala) injured too. We had to change things, sometimes with Ritchie de Laet on the left or with other defenders coming in. There were a lot of changes, but now things are more settled. When we can have a run of games with players together, we are really confident.”

Most observers would have expected a change to the starting line-up on Tuesday, but while Ayala proved his fitness with a brief substitute appearance at QPR, he remained on the bench for the game with Huddersfield.

Tomas Kalas continued alongside Ben Gibson in his absence, and with the Chelsea loanee having performed impressively in the last month, Karanka sees no reason to change things.

The Spaniard was clearly infuriated with Ayala when there was a dispute about the extent of his ankle injury, and despite having previously been regarded as one of the most important players in the team, the centre-half is going to have to be patient as he kicks his heels on the sidelines.

“It is another example that the main thing for me is the team,” said Karanka. “Everybody said that Dani had been the best defender in the league – or he can be – but he was injured and Tomas played.

“He did well, and it is always about the team for me. Tomas is playing well, and I don’t think it would be fair if he was playing for the last few games and playing well, but then I changed things. Why should I change?

“I think he (Kalas) has improved a lot since he came here. That is normal because he is young, and when you are young, you can improve and get more mature through playing games. He has played as a right-back, and now he is playing as a central defender. He is doing really well, and is making good decisions whenever he plays. He is really confident now, and that is good for him and good for the team.”

Both Kalas and Ayala were involved in last season’s failure to secure promotion, with Boro missing out on a place in the top two despite finding themselves at the top of the table with just six games to play.

Twelve months on, and the Teessiders find themselves in a similar situation, with the forthcoming matches against Burnley and Brighton mirroring last season’s games against Bournemouth and Watford in the latter stages of the campaign.

Back then, Boro lost to both of their promotion rivals, but Karanka feels his current squad is much better equipped to cope with the pressures they will face in the next four weeks.

“I am happier now than when I was sitting here at the same time last year,” he said. “There is more experience now, and also more quality. We have more options – a lot of things are better now.

“Last season was different. I was less experienced then and maybe more naïve. I thought we were going to get it (promotion) but we played against Bournemouth and they killed us. Now, they are in a good position in the Premier League.

“When we played against Watford, they killed us too. Now, I think things are different. We have better players, and players with more experience. For that reason, we are in a much better position than we were last season.”