WITH Middlesbrough standing on the brink of promotion to the Premier League, Aitor Karanka has challenged his players to deliver a feel-good factor that will be felt the length and breadth of Teesside.

Boro entertain promotion rivals Brighton in the biggest game of the Football League season so far this lunch-time, with a win or draw guaranteeing a place in the top-flight for the first time in seven years.

Since dropping into the second tier in 2009, the Teessiders have experienced some notable highs and lows, with the misery of the Gordon Strachan era preceding a period of stabilisation under Tony Mowbray that has been followed by the excitement of Karanka’s back-to-back promotion campaigns.

Last year, Boro lost out in heart-breaking fashion as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Norwich City in the play-off final at Wembley, but this time around there is a shared determination to ensure there is no need to endure the end-of-season lottery.

Instead, Karanka is desperate to secure a top-two finish, partly for his players and chairman Steve Gibson, but more importantly for the fans who have stuck with the club through some difficult times.

The last few years have seen the Teesside economy suffer a series of bitter blows, but the level of support for Middlesbrough’s football club has remained unwavering.

“There are three people in my mind who deserve to get promotion,” said the Boro head coach. “The chairman, the players and the crowd.

“The special thing is to be able to pay our crowd back for the support they have given us. That is important, especially because of the not-so-good moments that this area has had to live through.

“To get promotion for them would be amazing. That is what is motivating us – all the talk about money, whether for more or less, is not the main thing as far as we are concerned.

“I am sure that the last thing the players are thinking about is the money, a bonus or their contracts next season. They want to get promotion because to be a Premier League player means more than any of the money. And then we also know what all of that would mean to the fans.”

Karanka is also keen to see his players receive a fitting reward for a season that has seen them fill one of the top three positions since the middle of November.

They have won more league matches than any of their rivals, and their current total of 88 points is already three better than they managed as they finished in fourth position last term.

While Karanka has added the likes of Stewart Downing, David Nugent and Jordan Rhodes since the end of last season, almost half of today’s starting line-up were with him when he first arrived to replace Mowbray two-and-a-half years ago.

George Friend, Daniel Ayala, Grant Leadbitter and Albert Adomah all started his first game as Boro boss – a 2-1 defeat at Leeds United – with Ben Gibson and Adam Clayton establishing themselves as regular starters by the start of the following campaign.

With today’s game worth around £170m to the winners, the stakes could hardly be higher, but Karanka insists the pressure was more intense in the early stages of his reign.

In particular, he remembers a trip to Millwall in December 2013 that would have left Boro in the relegation zone had they not won 2-0, and it is no coincidence that the key players on that occasion remain integral parts of his side.

“We have six or seven players who played at Wembley last season, but we also have six or seven players who were playing at Millwall in December two years ago when we were just two points above the relegation positions,” said Karanka.

“When people talk about pressure, for me, that game was real pressure. To be two points above the relegation zone, without any real experience in the position, that was pressure. But we came through it.

“I saw something in those players back then, and that is the reason they are still with me. There are five or six players who have been here right the way through, and their qualities are the reason they are still with us. I have always said that they are the kind of players I would like to have right through my career.”

For now, though, Karanka is merely hoping they end the day with a Premier League place secured. Brighton will provide a considerable test, with Monday’s 1-1 draw with Derby County having extended the Seagulls’ unbeaten run to 13 games.

Karanka has lauded Brighton boss Chris Hughton as his ‘Manager of the Season’, and admitted he did not anticipate today’s opponents being part of the promotion picture at the start of the campaign.

He has been impressed with their efforts over the course of the season, but expects his players to outshine them in their bid to go one step better than last year.

“Last season, we lost the final because we weren’t ready to get promotion,” said Karanka. “I don’t want to say we are ready this season because I don’t know. But we are more mature, more experienced and have better players - especially when we play at home. That is why I cannot wait to play this game.”