BEN GIBSON admits Middlesbrough’s weekend defeat at Crystal Palace has plunged them deep into relegation trouble, and accepts his side will be making a rapid return to the Championship unless they quickly arrest a winless run that stretches to the middle of December.

Boro have flirted with the relegation places for the vast majority of the campaign, but had always been able to maintain a gap of at least three or four points to the bottom three.

That cushioned has disappeared though, with Saturday’s 1-0 reverse at Selhurst Park having plunged Aitor Karanka’s side to within one point of the drop zone.

They will be relying on their goal difference to keep them above the safety line if Leicester City claim at least a point against Liverpool tonight, with their meek surrender against Palace having set alarm bells ringing.

Despite Karanka having talked up the importance of Saturday’s relegation battle in the build-up to the game, Boro’s players lacked any kind of impetus as Patrick van Aanholt’s first-half winner condemned them to a ninth successive league game without a win.

A commendably honest Gibson was not pulling any punches as he left Selhurst Park, admitting his side are heading for the drop unless they rediscover the winning habit in their next few games.

“If there was anyone who didn’t know the obvious need to start picking up points, then this has made it very much evident,” said Gibson, who was one of the few Boro players to emerge with any credit as Palace clambered out of the bottom three.

“If anyone didn’t think we were in a relegation scrap before, then they certainly know now. It’s no use hiding away from it – that’s where we are. It’s something we’ll have to put right immediately.

“We’ve won four games this season, and that’s just not enough. Those games were against teams in and around us, so that’s kept us out of trouble a bit, but we can’t rely on that now.

“These games against the teams in and around us in the table are like cup finals now. We have to start winning, especially when we’re playing in these sorts of games. People call them six-pointers for a reason, and we have to start winning them. We’re very disappointed, and we have to assess what’s happened and get back to the drawing board and fix it.”

Boro’s main problems lie in front of goal, with Saturday’s failure to find the back of the net meaning they have managed just three goals in their last nine league outings.

One of those was a penalty, and while Wayne Hennessey was forced to produce a decent save from Cristhian Stuani in the second half of Saturday’s game, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper was completely untroubled for the rest of the afternoon.

Alvaro Negredo was withdrawn at half-time after failing to record a first-half effort, Rudy Gestede was equally ineffective in the second half, and Patrick Bamford did not even make the squad despite joining Boro in a £6m January move from Chelsea.

The Teessiders’ attacking limitations are becoming more and more obvious by the week, and meant they were unable to trouble a Palace side who should have been vulnerable opponents after shipping four goals to Sunderland in their previous home game.

“The worst thing is that this was a big opportunity, and we haven’t taken it,” said Gibson. “We spoke about that before the game – the fact we could make it hard for them. Instead, we let them get on top of us, and that has the opposite effect.

“The crowd get revved up, they get behind their players, and to a man we just weren’t good enough. They won the battles. We won a few more in the second half and started to have an impact on the game, but it was too little, too late. We have to pick ourselves up and improve. We have to stop the talking, and start making it happen on the pitch. Actions speak louder than words.”

Boro fielded a five-man backline at the weekend, with Karanka claiming the tactical switch was a last-minute reshuffle that was forced on him when George Friend was withdrawn by the club’s medical staff on Friday.

Despite having stated that Friend was a doubt in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Karanka had expected to left-back to be available to train on Friday.

Instead, he was left perplexed when his medical staff informed him Friend would not be fit enough to be involved in the training session at Rockliffe Park.

It is not the first time Karanka has expressed surprise at an intervention from his medical staff. Last season, he made similar comments about Daniel Ayala, and only last month, he claimed he was surprised when Gaston Ramirez was deemed unable to train as he attempted to force through a move to Leicester City.

“I had been training all week to play in a different shape,” said Karanka. “But when I went to the pitch (on Friday), ten minutes after the training session (started), I knew that George wasn’t there.

“It was a surprise for me, and I had to change everything because I didn’t know anything until the moment I arrived to the pitch. The only option I had was the shape that I went with.

“Yes (it was frustrating), because when you arrive every morning and you leave the training ground every night and you go to the pitch on the last day with everything under control - set pieces, the shape, the players who are going to play - and you have the surprise and you have (Antonio) Barragan and Calum Chambers injured and you don’t have another alternative it is frustrating.

“But we’ve played with the same shape in the first half and the second half and the game has been completely different so it’s not about the shape, it’s about our game.”

Palace boss Sam Allardyce was understandably delighted to see his side clamber out of the bottom three as they claimed their first home league win since the start of December.

The Eagles were the more adventurous side throughout, with Allardyce claiming Boro’s decision to switch to a five-man defence played into his side’s hands.

“It was an excellent performance,” said the former England and Sunderland boss. “A resilient performance and we showed quality in the first half.

"Our full-backs in wide areas created a lot and allowed our wide men to put pressure on Boro, who surprised us by playing three at the back - something they don't usually do.

"But we took advantage down the sides and that got us the victory. I think in the first half (that tactic played into Palace's hands).

"We were overloading in the wide areas with Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt down one side, (Joel) Ward and Andros (Townsend) down the other. 

"We put 20 crosses in their box in the first half and always one of those crosses will inevitably get us a chance or two, it's the law of averages. 

"But I was really pleased with the quality of the finish, it was a half-chance at best and when you get that sort of quality in a game like this, Patrick showed it can turn it. That quality won us those points."