A RELAXED Aitor Karanka has warmed up for this afternoon’s home game with Crystal Palace by admitting he is loving life in the Premier League – even if he could end up blasting his backroom staff if things turn sour.

Boro have started the first season back in the top-flight after a seven-year absence by collecting five points from nine in an unbeaten opening.

Karanka is a perfectionist and would have preferred better displays at times. He has been looking to tweak things to make Boro more impressive ahead of the visit of Alan Pardew’s Eagles.

But the rigours of playing three matches during most weeks in the Football League have set him up for a less demanding Premier League campaign, although the extra spotlight obviously brings with it additional pressures.

Karanka said: “I enjoy it much more now and it’s not just because we are in the Premier League. I am enjoying it a lot, we have improved a lot as a club and we have all the business done in pre-season.

“I improved a lot with my staff. For that reason I am improving a lot. I have one week to prepare the games, I can analyse more and I can do the jobs when I am calmer. We also have better players, the games are different as well.

“I think the pressure is always on the coach. We are really pleased now because we have five points but I am telling you how pleased I am with my new head of recruitment, my new analyst, but if we lose the following three or four games I will kill them (laughter and smiles)!

“I am responsible and the better people you have around you the better coach you are. They wanted that pressure and they are improving me and we are improving each other.”

Draws with Stoke City and West Brom either side of a victory at Sunderland gave Boro the confidence and belief they can mix it in the Premier League.

But Karanka, who has the option of bring back George Friend, Victor Valdes and Marten de Roon after injury today, is adamant his team is still off where he would like it to be in terms of performance. Calum Chambers, on loan from Arsenal, and Adama Traore, signed from Aston Villa, should also figure for the first time.

Karanka said: “We have to improve. With a lot of new players it is taking time for them to play in our organisation, but I am showing them new movements.

“It takes time and it is important that we have five points on the table, but if you look at the game against West Brom we had eight players who played last season. It is important that when the players who have come are not playing then we still get points.”

The Middlesbrough boss is still not making any wild predictions about what position they are targeting, having learned lessons from his first full season on Teesside when they lost a play-off final at Wembley to Norwich City.

He said: “I am always positive but the main thing I don’t want to do is make the same mistake as I did in my first press conference. I said I arrived here to get promotion and one year and a half later we lost the final, and it was like a failure.

“For that reason I try to keep our feet on the grass. I can understand the people getting excited when three years ago they were in the Championship and two points above the relegation position. I have to be pleased for them but we have to stay on the ground.”

Both Cristhian Stuani and Gaston Ramirez arrived back from international duty today, after playing for Uruguay against Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier. Stuani played 25 minutes and Ramirez appeared for the duration.

Karanka said: “They could be tired. With Cristian we learned a lot last season because he came back injured from this international break. He lost seven or eight games. Hopefully he comes back from this one 100 per cent fit and a little bit tired.”