Middlesbrough: Karanka in his own words; boss' frustration at transfer stalemate

Press: You said in the TVs that Gaston Ramirez is not leaving – can you just confirm that

Aitor Karanka: “He will not be leaving, 100 per cent. No matter what else happens (at the Leicester end), 100 per cent he will not be going."

Press: Will it be a difficult job to repair the relationship? 

AK: “My job is always to put out the best 11. If he in the best 11 players, he will play. If he is not, then we have another ten or 11 players who can play instead."

Press: He has been an important player for you. 

AK: “He has shown that he is an important player. When he came here, he was not playing with the national team, but he has got himself back into that team now. If he wants to carry on playing for the national team in the future, then I think that he has to play."

Press: Has he explained why he wants to leave?

AK: “I don’t know why he wanted to go."

Press: You’ve had a similar experience with (Albert) Adomah – will that help? 

AK: “It does not matter whether I have had that experience or not – it is just important to be fair with the players and try to treat them all in the same way. All of them are the same to me. I have to treat them in the same way, and if you are honest with them and treat them all fairly, then that is all you can do. It is not a matter of experience, you just have to explain to them and make things extremely clear."

Press: Did you think he was fit enough to play tomorrow?

AK: “I hoped so, and he was in the squad until the moment until the physio arrived at my office and said that he couldn’t play. He looked okay in training, and I had hoped he had made a full recovery. He wouldn’t have started, but he would have been in the squad."

Press: You’ve said the squad hasn’t been strengthened, but you’ve signed (Rudi) Gestede and (Patrick) Bamford. Why don’t you think that adds to the squad? 

AK: “Teams in our position are signing players for £14m – we are signing players that didn’t play in the Championship. Patrick didn’t play for almost 18 months, so I don’t think it is an amazing improvement.

"We can see, and the people who know Patrick know that he is not currently the same as he was 18 months ago. If we are expecting that Patrick was going to arrive and score five goals straight away then we are making a big mistake because he is not ready now."

Press: You need players who can make an impact now? 

AK: “We need to improve the team, and the club knew a month-and-a-half ago the players that I wanted. We have two days now."

Press: Why have club missed out on players? 

AK: “I don’t know, that is not my job. I am the coach.

Press: Have all targets moved now, or are there any left? 

AK: “I don’t remember."

Press: How difficult that as a head coach, transfer issues are out of your hands? 

AK: “It is easy because, here, and for whatever reason, I am blamed. When you know that is the going to be the case, then it doesn’t matter. It is always going to be the same. I am the one responsible, and I am used to that."

Press: Any chance of signing someone before window closes?

AK: “I don’t know."

Press: Are you blamed because you are the public face of the club? 

AK: “It is difficult, but when we got promotion last season, there were a lot of people who got a medal. A lot of people had a medal, and a lot of people had done their job. Now? I don’t know, it is the same for the last few years. The only thing I know is to do my job, and to work, and to try to win as many games as possible."

Press: Is squad strong enough for rest of season?

AK: “I don’t know. When it comes to February 1, the players I have on the pitch will be the best players in the world because the players who are training with me since I arrived, and the players that have arrived in the last two weeks or the last month, are doing an amazing job.

"Sometimes, I can criticise them or blame them, but 95 per cent of the time, they are doing their best. When they are doing their best and I am doing my best, let’s see what is happening."

Press: You have praised Victor Orta and others in past for doing deals early, what has changed this month? 

AK: “I don’t know what has changed. The only thing is know is that Victor Orta has been doing an amazing job at this club since he arrived here.

Press: Is it other people you are frustrated with? 

AK: “I don’t know. I only know the job Victor Orta is doing with this team."

Press: Is the current squad good enough to stay up? 

AK: “I don’t know. I will have to work hard, in the way that I have been working since I arrived here."

Press: Boro have been four points above bottom three with good goal difference so far, so the argument could be that that’s enough to take you through? 

AK: “I hope. But the pressure will increase in the months, and we do not have a lot of experienced players in the squad who have played in the Premier League. Let’s see. With this group of players, the only thing I can do is trust and believe."

Press: Without putting words in your mouth, has there been a lack of ambition in January by the club?

AK: “I know my ambition, and my ambition is always to try do my best."

Press: But for the club to spend the money that you’re talking about?

AK: “To not put something from my mouth? I am not going to say anything."

Press: Stewart Downing was back in, does he have a big role to play between now and the end of the season? 

AK: “Yes, but that was against Accrington, League Two. It is not a good reference. It is good for him, and good for everybody, especially for him, for him to take that goal. It will give him more confidence, but we cannot forget it was Accrington."

Press: He played in that central role, can you get the best out of him there? 

AK: “He has good things, and one of them is that he can play in four or five different positions. It is always important for me to have players like him who can play in different positions."

Press: And he’s settled, he’s happy? 

AK: “I have always felt him in the same way."

Press: Any other fringe players that might be going? 

AK: “I don’t know."

Press: As well as everything else to contend with, it’s not easy to see how your defence is going to shape up with players that are out. 

AK: “Yes, but that is my job. For sure, we will play with 11 players."

Press: On the game, you said you were friends with (WBA manager) Tony Pulis?

AK: “Not really friends, but we have a good relationship. Every single time we have been together, we have had a good relationship."

Press: Do you have a lot in common? 

AK: “I don’t know. I met him two years ago, and when I speak with him, he is the kind of person where it is lovely to speak with him."

Press: He’s done a good job this year? 

AK: “This year – and all of his career."

Press: How long will George Friend be out for? 

AK: “I don’t know because he has a scan today I think."

Press: Will Callum Chambers go back to Arsenal while he is injured? 

AK: “No, he is staying here with us, and I hope he will be back with us as soon as possible.”