IT took Middlesbrough 85 minutes before making Tottenham panic at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham, despite the slender scoreline, enjoyed an armchair ride, but a late assault from the visitors saw Alvaro Negredo and Marten de Roon come close.

There was more than a hint of anxiety from the home fans for the first time all evening.

Boro sealed a smash and grab and raid at Manchester City to earn a 1-1 draw. This time, the equaliser would evade them and they could have no complaints.

You wonder just what would happen if Aitor Karanka released the shackles and gave his players freedom to attack with greater ambition.

Of course, it could leave them exposed where teams with the quality that Tottenham boast could punish them.

But the stats don’t lie. Boro have attempted a league-low 56 shots on target in the Premier League this season, 16 fewer than any other team.

Supporters will also worry that if Middlesbrough do suffer relegation, they would have done it with a whimper. This is no Blackpool, the team that thrilled so many in 2011 but ultimately suffered heartache.

Boro have won just one of their past ten matches and are being dragged ever closer to the relegation fight, with one point now separating them from third-bottom Hull City.

If Karanka keeps the Teessiders up then he will consider it a job well done and he has no plans to change tack now.

"It was difficult because we played against one of the best teams in the league, the second one at the moment and even playing against them," said the Middlesbrough manager. "We had chances to score.

"Therefore, the commitment of this team, with the players we have, is amazing. When we play other teams, for sure, we will win games.

"Do I enjoy it? I enjoy it every single day. Especially when you arrived here three years ago and you spent two-and-a-half years in the Championship.

"You enjoy every single day in the Premier League. It is difficult because all my career I have been fighting to win titles or to qualify for the Champions League or Europa League. 

"Now this is completely different being where we are, with the players that I have, with the crowd we have. I am really positive and pleased with them and I’m sure we will stay up.

"We have been in this position for seven months and we will get out of this position because we have a very good team and they showed that. If you want to be successful, you have to look upwards."

Despite Karanka's upbeat mood, without Victor Valdes this game would have been over by half-time.

The Boro goalkeeper was finally beaten when Bernardo Espinosa went to ground too easily and Son Heung-min was hauled down for a clear 58th-minute which was converted by Harry Kane.

That trend, combined with some poor finishing from the home side, continued until the last few minutes.

Then, all of a sudden, it was a different game. Negredo, who will have been disappointed to see an early header drift just over, saw a scissors kick leave Hugo Lloris scrambling across his goal.

The best chance was left to de Roon, who could not believe he side-footed his volley wide. The Dutchman could not repeat his heroics at the Etihad, in almost identical fashion, as this time he snatched at the opening.

Karanka and Middlesbrough will now be sweating over a potential retrospective FA charge for Valdes.

The Spaniard raised his arm in Dele Alli's face early on, and Boro will anxiously be waiting for referee Mark Clattenburg's report.  A three-match ban looms if the goalkeeper is punished for violent conduct.

Karanka later played down the incident and instead reserved praise for the former Barcelona shot-stopper.

He said: "There is a lot of pressure on Victor because he is used to winning the Champions League and winning the League with (Lionel) Messi, Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta. Now it is completely different for him.

“He is helping us a lot and off the pitch he is a character. It is not about Victor, not about me, it is about everybody."

Middlesbrough's campaign has been built largely on frustrating the opposition, with their 12 away games so far producing just 21 goals. 

Their six draws could be crucial, but they have not won since mid-December and will be looking over their shoulders, that is for sure.

With games looming against Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Swansea and Hull, Karanka added: "If we play in the way we played today, we will win those games. 

"In the first part of the season, we did that with Hull and with Sunderland, and now we are more experienced and we have more players, so I am really confident.”