THERE are only a couple of things that could make a satisfying season even better for Middlesbrough goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos: Promotion and a new contract.

The towering Greek shot stopper has emerged as a crucial part of the Boro promotion charge under Aitor Karanka, so much so that initial talks centred on a new deal have already started.

Konstantopoulos will become a free agent in the summer, but his experience and ability to make crucial saves at important stages has given him every chance of staying at the Riverside Stadium beyond June.

Unlike 18 months ago, when he was training with Hartlepool and Boro looking to impress sufficiently to earn a short term deal after leaving AEK Athens, the 36-year-old’s stock has risen considerably. There is likely to be a queue of clubs waiting to take him should a new contract not be agreed on Teesside.

But Konstantopoulos would rather stay. He said: “I am happy here; the gaffer knows that. It’s just one of those things and hopefully, eventually, we will get sorted. We are both looking at it now. My contract runs until June, so there is plenty of time. If everything goes well I will be still here.”

It would be a travesty if Konstantopoulos moved on after the first half of the season which he has enjoyed. He has been instrumental in Middlesbrough’s rise to third in the Championship, having kept 14 clean sheets and he is able to boast the best defensive record in the division.

He is desperate for that to continue. While he drills home the message - regularly spoken by head coach Aitor Karanka – that things have to be taken game-by-game, Konstantopoulos knows that the possibility of playing in the Premier League next season is one he is focused on making happen.

The top-flight is the only division he has not played in since first arriving in England in 2003; when he was handed a deal at Hartlepool. Since then he has also played in Europe and represented Greece during his spell in Athens after leaving Coventry City in 2010.

He said: “I have played in the Europa League, for my country, but the Premier League is the one I would love to play in. I have played against many Premier League teams in the past. But I’ve never been in it full-time. It would be fantastic. Hopefully we will get there.

“It would be weird to actually get there at the age I’m at now after years of trying. Of course you would want to enjoy it when you are younger, but football is football and you can never say never. I am hungry to succeed and if you maintain that hunger you might eventually get there.”

Konstantopoulos is settled in the North-East and has no desire to leave. He also feels more confident in his ability than he has for a number of years, having proved himself at the Riverside after initially moving on a low-cost short term deal handed to him by Tony Mowbray in the summer of 2013.

Mowbray was reluctant to play him, but Karanka has pitched him in to his first team picture ahead of Tomas Mejias and he has rarely disappointed.

Konstantopoulos said: “It has been fantastic for me and the reasons have been a combination of things. There was the managerial change; this gaffer showed me his trust to put me in.

“For my part, I have been doing my job and probably doing it well. We have enjoyed our football and I have since I came back to this area. It’s great to be part of a well organised club. It’s been a great transformation from when I left AEK Athens, a club in turmoil and mess. I have come here and it has changed my football career.”

He added: “I am definitely more confident now than I was at the start of my time at Boro. No doubt about it. You know your ability, but it’s also about playing games. It’s also about being lucky, with the right moves at the right times. This situation has been great for me.

“The more games you play the better you become because you grow in confidence and that helps the team ... it’s like a chain reaction.

“To get promoted would be just perfect, but there is still a long way to go. We have to concentrate as we have so far and if we get there then we can let our hair down.”