GRANT Leadbitter hopes Aitor Karanka will stay at Middlesbrough for a “long time” after the Spanish head coach dismissed reports linking him with the vacant role at Newcastle United.

Karanka played down reports in the wake of last weekend’s FA Cup third round win at Barnsley after his odds to take over at St James’ Park tumbled over the weekend.

The former Real Madrid assistant said he was “120 per cent” committed to the project he has undertaken on Teesside having led Boro from 18th to fourth in the Championship.

The Magpies are reportedly keen to employ a young head coach and given the progress Karanka has made since taking over at the Riverside Stadium it isn’t surprising to see him linked with jobs in the Premier League.

Leadbitter has flourished under the Spaniard this season, bagging 11 goals in the first half of the season, and despite speculation the midfielder hopes Karanka will stay at the Riverside Stadium for many years to come.

“The manager has had a big impact on the football club and that’s how it should be,” Leadbitter said. “He’s got to make decisions and over the last 12 months he has made key decisions for the club and we’re in a good place. We’ve just got to keep winning games.

“We’re happy to have the manager here and we want him here for a long time. He is the main reason why the club is in a good place and fighting for a top position in the Championship.”

Only five defeats so far this season has cemented Boro’s place in the Championship play-offs and Leadbitter has identified Karanka’s winning mentality as a big reason behind their success.

He said: “The manager has brought in a winning mentality. He’s brought in a dressing room that cares. We care when we lose, every single player hurts, and that’s one big thing he has brought.

“The manager has been at top clubs. I’m sure in his Real Madrid days defeats hurt and I think he has brought that to this football club. When we lose everyone in the club knows about it and we have to make sure we continue with the form we have had.

“Our aim is to get back to the Premier League and that’s what he’s brought. You can only take one day at a time, but we are in a good position and we have to keep building on that.”

Boro take on Reading at the Madjeski Stadium this afternoon looking to close the gap on Championship leaders Bournemouth.

In the return fixture last August, Reading were 1-0 winners at the Riverside Stadium, but Leadbitter insists the match isn’t just about putting that performance right.

He said: “I think when you try too hard to put things right then things generally go wrong, but we’ve just got to go in and get the job done.

“We’ve bounced back from a poor performance at Ipswich, where we were deservedly well beaten, with two good performances against Nottingham Forest and Blackburn.

“We should have taken six points from those games instead of four, but we’ll go to Reading and perform well and when we do that we tend to win.

“We want to win league games. They are our priority. We take each game as it comes. Saturday is a tough game away and we have to make sure we get the points.”