AITOR KARANKA has urged his players to focus on delivering for Middlesbrough rather than worry about what the Championship’s other promotion contenders are doing.

Boro, who defeated Huddersfield at the Riverside on Saturday, are three points off Ipswich in the second automatic promotion place and remain four shy of leaders Bournemouth, who continued their good run with a 2-0 success at Rotherham.

Middlesbrough must try to claim a second successive win when Cardiff City travel to Teesside on Tuesday night or run the risk of that gap extending against a team struggling to stay with the play-off pack. Bournemouth play Leeds on the same night.

But Karanka, who has no fresh injury problems, does not want his team to concern themselves with anything other than turning in a display worthy of a win over the Bluebirds that would maintain hopes of a push for a Premier League return.

“We have to play thinking about ourselves only,” said the Spaniard. “We need to forget other teams. We are doing our homework on the games we have to play, that’s our focus.

“We can’t go in to games thinking about other games and teams. We have to think only about ourselves. Last season I think Burnley and Leicester were very high at this stage, but this season I always thought it would be a tight league and we have to think about what we are doing.”

Middlesbrough returned to winning ways in the league courtesy of two goals from Lee Tomlin against Huddersfield. Karanka is expected to make changes again on Tuesday, but is confident his players will be ready regardless of the team he names.

“It was a great win for us, an important win because we couldn’t win the previous games and we couldn’t score goals,” said Karanka. “Playing at home, it is important to get the winning points.

“The last game was a fair reflection of the league. In the first half we could have been 3-0 up and in the last few minutes we could have drawn the game. We have got three points and we are in the same position in the league despite winning. In this league you always have to think about the following game.”