AITOR KARANKA has warned some of his established Middlesbrough players to expect a raft of changes for tomorrow’s game at MK Dons.

Karanka freely admits he felt a debt of loyalty to the core of the side that had taken the Teessiders into the automatic promotion places in the first five months of the season, so despite signing five new players in last month’s transfer window, he kept his alterations to a minimum ahead of Saturday’s home game with Blackburn.

The ploy backfired, as with Jordan Rhodes, who came on for the final 13 minutes, and Gaston Ramirez, who was an unused substitute, on the bench, Boro produced a laboured and disjointed performance.

David Nugent’s 79th-minute equaliser secured a first point in three matches, but Boro’s advantage over third-placed Burnley has been reduced to a point and Karanka accepts it is time to shuffle the pack ahead of the trip to Stadium MK.

“With the players (selected against Blackburn), I was thinking the reaction was going to be better,” said the Boro boss. “I had to be fair with them because we’re in the position we are because they have been playing well until two weeks ago. But now I’ve seen that reaction and I have to think about changing something.

“I have to think how good the players have been in the last few weeks. It’s not right for players who have arrived three, four or five days ago to go straight in the team. They have to know it’s not going to be easy – but maybe now it’s going to be easier because I expected a better reaction.”

In particular, Karanka was disappointed with his side’s lacklustre attacking efforts for the majority of the afternoon, with Boro failing to record a single attempt on target before Nugent converted Emilio Nsue’s 79th-minute cross.

Kike Sola, who was one of just two January signings handed a debut, was a major disappointment in the ‘number ten’ role, but his half-time replacement, Cristhian Stuani, also failed to exert an influence on proceedings.

Both Stewart Downing and Albert Adomah suffered off days in their attacking midfield roles, and as a result, Boro’s attacking was both predictable and ponderous with Nugent becoming visibly frustrated in his lone centre-forward berth.

“When you play with at least the same intensity as your opponent, but have more quality, you’re going to win,” said Karanka. “If you have a lot of quality, but don’t play with the same intensity, you’re not going to win.

“We have a lot of good players, but we have to play with the same intensity as our opponents. In the first 70 minutes, we didn’t play with the intensity we needed, especially after our last two defeats.

“I thought the reaction was going to be better, but the last 20 minutes was the only time we wanted to win or draw the game, or when we had a few chances.

“We’ve brought five really good players in, so now we have to try to motivate everybody as we were two or three weeks ago. So we have to try to work more, and try to pick the right players.”

While Kike Sola struggled to cope with the pace of the Championship, Boro’s other debutant, Ritchie De Laet, successfully hit the ground running as he deputised for the injured George Friend at left-back.

“I thought Ritchie was one of the best,” said Karanka. “He showed that he is a good player. He has experience and character, and I was very pleased with him.”

Boro suffered a defensive disruption shortly before the interval as Daniel Ayala was forced off after injuring his ankle as he competed for a high ball in the Blackburn box.

The Spaniard was assessed at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground yesterday, and remains a doubt for tomorrow’s game.

“I don’t know how bad it is, we will have to speak to the doctor,” said Karanka. “He fell to the floor and twisted his ankle, so we hope it is nothing serious. But if we don’t have Dani (tomorrow), we have Tomas and other players who can play.”