IT might not have been his predecessor’s philosophy, but Garry Monk will continue to adopt an attacking approach as he looks to guide Middlesbrough back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

There have been a host of changes since Aitor Karanka left the Riverside towards the end of last season, but the most pronounced has been the change in mind-set overseen by the Spaniard’s successor.

Whereas Karanka was a naturally conservative coach, preaching the importance of organisation, risk-avoidance and defensive resilience, Monk adopts a much more expansive approach, placing a much greater emphasis on attacking play and creativity.

As a result, Boro have scored two or more goals in four of their last six matches, with their adventurous approach being maintained whether they are playing at home or away.

The shift has been extremely well-received by the fans, who had become increasingly frustrated with Karanka’s cautious approach, and while Monk insists he has no interest in the problems of the past, he makes no apology for sending out a side that is constantly looking to get on the front foot.

“I wasn’t here before, so I don’t know how it was, but as a manager, I just think you have to put your own mentality and attitude on things,” said the Boro boss, who takes his side to Fulham this afternoon looking to extend their six-game unbeaten run. “You want to see the team playing as you would hope for.

“The fans want to be entertained, and they want to pay their money to see excitement. It’s not always that way, and it’s very difficult in this league to always be entertaining.

“There are dull games, which you can’t avoid. But you try to set your team up with the vision and attitude of how you think the game should be played. Our players know what we’re asking, what we want it to look like, and how we’re going to get there.”

Monk’s desire to produce exciting, attacking football is reflected in the players he signed this summer. He broke Boro’s transfer record to land striker Britt Assombalonga, shelled out another £9m to sign Martin Braithwaite from Toulouse, and also pushed hard to acquire the likes of Ashley Fletcher, Lewis Baker and Marvin Johnson.

His attacking options are the envy of most other managers in the Championship, and whereas Karanka would often pack his side with defensive midfielders and religiously stick to the policy of playing a lone centre-forward, Monk is keen to get as many attacking options onto the field as possible.

He paired two centre-forwards in an orthodox 4-4-2 formation as Boro beat Aston Villa to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, and has tended to play with out-and-out wingers in the majority of his side’s league games.

“When you’re putting a squad together, you have to know what you want the finished article to look like,” said Monk. “You never get to the perfect end point, but you have to know what you’d like your team to be. Then you work backwards from that.

“We’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we want to be, but we have an idea in our mind of what we’re aiming for. You try to put that message in and keep encouraging it.

“It’s about getting the right balance. I love defending, and I love attacking. It’s about getting the balance between the two so you can be effective.

“The point of this job and this sport is to win, otherwise what are we doing here? There are certain situations where you have to adapt though. Look at Aston Villa (in the league), a draw in the end was a good result.

“It wasn’t that we settled for a point, it was just we knew that a point in that situation was a good outcome. You judge it like that, but our main aim is to win games and to be on the front foot as much as possible.”

Tuesday’s performance at Villa Park has provided Monk with a number of selection headaches, but the former Swansea and Leeds boss is delighted to have problems to wrestle with as he ponders his line-up for Craven Cottage.

“That’s the point of having a squad, for you to have options,” he said. “The standards we set and demands we put on the players are very high. But they understand what’s expected and their job is to be ready at any moment.

“It (Tuesday’s display) typifies the commitment of the group. Players have come in or come on in games, and their commitment and attitude have been excellent. There are a lot of players who have been very effective and are pushing for places.”