STEVE AGNEW is not thinking about how long Gaston Ramirez will be at Middlesbrough as he prepares for a North-East derby without the £15m-rated South American.

Ramirez disgusted Boro fans on Saturday with his performance at Bournemouth, when he was stupidly sent off for two yellow cards in the first half of the 4-0 defeat. The first caution was for diving and the second a silly lunge at Mark Pugh.

That dismissal means he misses tonight’s game with Sunderland at the Riverside, while his dismissal was partly responsible for the team’s failure to make things more difficult for Bournemouth.

Ramirez wanted to join Leicester City in January when the decision was made to stand firm and not cave in to the player’s demands, and that has led to suggestions his performances have dipped as a result.

Agnew said: “I think if you assess and you look at it, January was difficult and then, after January, Gaston's performances haven't been, probably, as influential as in the first half of the season. So has it affected in terms of being more creative and scoring a goal? I think it has.

“I think what we have to do, without going back over everything, the decision in January was for Gaston to stay with us and perform and play as well as he can and it's not just Gaston, the team hasn't functioned, or has found it difficult to find wins as we all know because the last one was back in December.”

Ramirez remains one of Boro's most creative players when he is on song.

When Agnew was asked if the former Southampton man has a future at the club, he said: “He does enjoy his football and he trains hard every day. What he has done is, through a sending off, given himself a one match ban and he's not available for the Sunderland game and that's as far as I look ahead.”

And the boss admitted he was frustrated with the player’s actions.

Agnew said: “Yes, I was disappointed in it, I have to be honest and, initially, I couldn't see from where I was, the angle, what happened.

“I've seen the replay back, he went down too easy and I think the bigger disappointment (was) we have to stay in the game, we need everybody on the pitch and I don't think he caught Pugh, but I think it was the intent that he went in with that gave the referee no option.”