AITOR KARANKA thinks Middlesbrough’s rivals have better players to call on in the Championship’s promotion race, but is convinced he has a squad capable of staying ahead of the pack.

Boro head for Nottingham Forest today knowing that victory will ensure they will finish the weekend where they started: sitting pretty at the top of the Football League.

But he knows that he must devise a plan capable of keeping Middlesbrough in the top two with 11 matches remaining in the battle to claim automatic promotion.

Karanka’s recruitment drive last summer – and the January addition of Adam Forshaw from Wigan – has given him plenty of options to freshen things up on a regular basis and he is not afraid to make changes.

His desire to have two players competing for every position has created a fantastic team spirit, but he thinks that other clubs’ finances have allowed them to sign better players in different areas.

“Do I have the best squad? For sure, it is my squad,” said Karanka. “I will always say that. But if you look at other teams, player by player, then many of them have better players because the numbers are there to look at.

“Whether it is the strikers at Watford, Derby, Norwich, Ipswich or Bournemouth ... they have more goals than our players.

“For me it is not a problem because I trust all of my players 200 per cent. I chose all of them carefully so it is the best squad, but if I look player by player and salaries by salaries, then a lot of the squads have better players and better contracts.”

Despite his belief that other Championship teams have had more money to spend, Karanka is appreciative of the fact he is able to make regular changes to his team in a bid to keep Boro fresh.

This afternoon’s trip to Nottingham Forest is the ninth match his side have had to play since February 7 – a full month – and he thinks the best way to attack such a run of games is to alter the personnel in his starting line-ups.

He has not named the same 11 in successive matches this season and his decision to make huge changes as well as a switch of system last weekend proved costly at Sheffield Wednesday.

But Karanka said: “I have to think what is best for the team. There were people who criticised me before Blackpool but we beat them. After that game I was the best.

“I don’t know how many I made against Sheffield and I was criticised again, we lost and it was my fault. That’s not a problem. I know my responsibility and I have to choose carefully what I think is my best 11 to win every game. We are fighting to be top of the table so we are doing some things well!

“If you look at Derby, they have Chris Martin and Darren Bent injured. Lewis Grabban is injured at Norwich. We don’t have players injured and I think it’s because we have been managing them all properly until now. The players who play more games, maybe 27, 28 games, are in more danger. It’s important to reach the end of the season fresh.”

Next week he should have the confidence to turn to Mustapha Carayol when he wants to. The winger has been an unused substitute just once since recovering from a serious injury but his manager thinks a period of uninterrupted training will help his cause ahead of Ipswich’s visit next Saturday.

“Muzzy needs more fitness. He is playing well with the Under-21s and he is improving,” said Karanka, who also hopes to have defender Daniel Ayala back on the training ground next week.

“In the last month he could train with us, which is good for him. Next week can be important for him because he can train a full week with us and he has not been able to do that.”