THEY continue to rely on other results going their way, but Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka on Friday night claimed his side deserve to be playing in the Premier League next season.

Boro moved back to the top of the Championship table as Alex Tettey’s early own goal delivered a 1-0 win over promotion rivals Norwich City.

Their stay could be short-lived with Bournemouth and Watford both playing at home on Saturday, against Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham respectively, but having travelled to Carrow Road knowing they needed a win to keep their hopes of automatic promotion alive, Boro’s players did all they could to aid their chances of a top-two finish.

Their gritty, committed display stood in marked contrast to the meek surrenders that saw them lose at Bournemouth and Watford, and left Karanka delighted with the efforts of his players.

“It was amazing,” said the Spaniard. “We were playing away against Norwich, who are a Premier League team with Premier League players.

“But we beat them and that is amazing. I told the players after the game that they are a team who deserve to be in the Premier League next season. If anyone deserves it, it is this team, and nobody could be prouder of their players than I am.”

Having struggled to get into the game at both the Goldsands Stadium and Vicarage Road, Boro exploded out of the traps last night with their early dominance taking Norwich’s players completely by surprise.

Tettey’s own goal came at the end of a spell of intense Boro pressure, and both Patrick Bamford and Lee Tomlin came close with early opportunities to double the visitors’ lead.

Norwich gradually became more effective as the game wore on, but while Jonny Howson should have done better with a first-half header that flew wide, the hosts failed to seriously trouble Dimi Konstantopoulos.

Their ineffectiveness was largely due to towering defensive displays from Daniel Ayala and Ben Gibson, who excelled in dealing with a series of increasingly frantic balls into the box.

“We started really well and knew we couldn’t do the same thing we did against Bournemouth and Watford,” said Karanka, whose side have claimed at least a point from every game in which they have led at half-time this season. “We couldn’t let them play because they are Premier League players.

“We scored the first goal and could have had the second one, but the second one did not arrive. Then they started to play, but I can’t remember them having a lot of clear chances.

“They played a lot of long balls into our box, but our defenders, our goalkeeper and all the players were once again brilliant.”

For the second game in succession, Boro’s win came at a cost with both Bamford and Jelle Vossen sustaining injuries.

Bamford damaged his ankle in the first half, but remained on the pitch despite struggling to move freely for almost an hour of the game.

Vossen also attempted to continue after receiving treatment in the second half, but after falling awkwardly following a tangle with Sebastien Bassong, the Belgian was forced to admit defeat and hobble to the touchline.

“It was a risk to leave Patrick on, but I felt that although he was not comfortable, he could play,” said Karanka. “I was scared that if I made a substitution, I might lose a substitution that I might need in the last few minutes. I kept him on the pitch and the main thing is that in the end, everything was good.

“It is too early to say how Jelle is. I will have to speak with the doctor to see how he is and what we are going to do with him.”

Boro will have to make at least one change for next weekend’s game at Fulham as Tomas Kalas has played the final game of his loan from Chelsea and Boro cannot extend his switch from Stamford Bridge.