AITOR KARANKA has urged Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes to take a leaf out of Troy Deeney’s book as he attempts to establish himself in the Premier League.

Deeney will be at the Riverside tomorrow as Boro entertain Watford looking to record their first home win of the season, and Karanka admits he made a tentative attempt to sign the 28-year-old a couple of years ago, only to be unable to match the Hornets’ valuation of the forward.

Since then, Deeney has fired Watford to promotion and established himself as a leading Premier League marksman, with his goal in this month’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth making it 16 top-flight successes since the start of last season.

Deeney has silenced the doubters who were questioning his ability to transfer his goalscoring form in the Football League to the very highest level, but the same questions are still being asked of Rhodes, with the Boro striker yet to get off the mark this season.

Rhodes made his first Premier League start in the 1-1 draw with West Ham that preceded the international break, but could find himself back on the bench tomorrow with Aitor Karanka edging towards a recall for Alvaro Negredo.

The Scotsman is yet to fully convince on the Premier League stage, and Karanka would like to see him adopt some of Deeney’s more forceful personality traits as he looks to make his mark outside the Championship.

“I don’t know Deeney that well, I have only really met him the two or three times we have played them,” said Karanka. “But from what I know of him and Jordan, I think they are two different characters.

“As a player, they are both really good strikers, but sometimes character is important too. Without knowing Deeney 100 per cent, I think his character is completely different. Jordan is improving a lot, but maybe they are different in terms of their character.

“I read an interview with him (Deeney), and he was talking a lot about learning from his mistakes. He is a lot more mature now, and has grown up. When you have made mistakes and learned from them, you are going to be a better person. He is a better person now, and a better professional.”

He was already a decent enough player when Karanka encountered him in the Championship, most notably during the two games between Boro and Watford in the 2014-15 season.

In the first match, at the Riverside, a less-than-fully-fit Deeney came off the bench shortly after half-time with Watford trailing 1-0. He was all-but-unplayable for half-an-hour, claiming a goal to secure his side a 1-1 draw.

The return fixture at Vicarage Road was something of a horror show from a Middlesbrough perspective, with Deeney once again running riot as he scored in a 2-0 Watford win.

Karanka had already tried to sign him at that stage, but was unable to agree a deal and turned his attentions to the loan capture of Patrick Bamford instead. Had Watford not secured promotion in May 2015, he might well have returned with a second approach, but with the Hornets pipping Boro to a place in the Premier League, a transfer at that stage was never a realistic possibility.

“I would have liked to sign him, but at the time we just didn’t have the money,” said Karanka. “Perhaps things would have been different a year or so ago, but Watford had been promoted by then. As a player, I don’t think I’m saying anything that other managers do not know. Everybody likes Deeney because he scores goals.

“We’ve played against him in the past so I know how good he is. I remember the last time we played against them (at home) - we were winning 1-0 and were much, much better than Watford. When Deeney went to the pitch, everything changed. Now he’s in a better team with better organisation and more quality, so he’s even more dangerous.”

Boro’s task is to negate that danger and record what would be a first home win since Reading were vanquished at the Riverside in mid-April.

It is 2009 since the Teessiders last recorded a home win in the Premier League, but having insisted he is not concerned by his side’s position just two points above the relegation zone, Karanka maintains it is much too early to be throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of three points.

“We have to remember the things we did to get here,” he said. “When I first came, we went seven games without scoring a goal, but in those seven games, there were five where we did not lose. That shows you need a balance.

“It is really difficult to score in the Premier League, so we have to work as hard as we can to make sure we do not concede. Against Everton and West Ham, we conceded as soon as we scored first.

“In the past, we were really strong defensively when we went ahead. I don’t know why that has changed. Maybe it is about experience or the momentum of the game. Maybe that is why we made those mistakes.”

* Middlesbrough have had two games moved for live television coverage. The home game with Hull City will now take place on Monday, December 5 (8pm), while the home match with Leicester City on Monday, January 2 will now kick off at the earlier time of 12.30pm.