STEVE AGNEW admits he and his Middlesbrough players will have to be prepared to take risks if they are to clamber to safety in the final ten games of the season.

Boro head to Swansea City tomorrow looking to close the five-point gap that currently separates them from their opponents, who are sitting in 17th position in the table.

Their last league victory came against Swansea back in mid-December, and since then they have gone 11 Premier League games without a win, a run that has plunged them deep into relegation trouble.

Aitor Karanka’s risk-averse tactics undoubtedly played a part in their downfall, with the former head coach often appearing more interested in avoiding defeat than trying to push forward in search of a win.

Agnew is determined to adopt a different approach, and having thrown caution to the wind in the closing stages of his first game in charge, a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United, he will be doing all he can to ensure the shackles remain off tomorrow.

“I spoke a couple of weeks ago about being creative, and that is what we have to be,” said the Boro boss, whose side will drop to the bottom of the table if North-East rivals Sunderland win at Watford this afternoon. “We have to be creative as coaches and players.

“In the situation we are in, we have to take risks at times. They are not silly risks, but they are calculated risks – to go past an opponent, to cross more balls, to support the front players and to have more shots. I’m really confident from what I’ve seen over the last two weeks that we will see that on Sunday.

“Of course the players want to play that way. They are attacking players, that’s what they are. They are encouraged from all the staff to do that, and play with no fear. If they make a mistake high up the pitch then they’ve got another 70 metres to recover and defend. I want to encourage the players at the front end of the pitch to take risks in an attempt to create more chances and score goals.”

That risk taking is not restricted to the players on the pitch, as Agnew also accepts he might have to take some calculated gambles in an attempt to transform his side’s fortunes.

Karanka was rigidly set in his ways, with his three-man midfield restricting his side’s attacking options and his refusal to start with two centre-forwards infuriating a Riverside support that grew increasingly frustrated with his methods.

Agnew played with two out-and-out strikers in the closing stages of the Manchester United defeat, with Rudy Gestede coming onto the field to partner Alvaro Negredo, and could opt to play the same formation at the Liberty Stadium.

However, he has been quick to point out that increasing his side’s attacking threat does not necessarily mean having to play with two target-men alongside each other. Instead, he could opt to play the likes of Stewart Downing, Gaston Ramirez and Adama Traore behind Negredo, with a license to break beyond the Spaniard into the box.

“There is a need for risks to be taken, and that’s something I’m conscious of and am prepared to do,” said Agnew. “That’s how I am. To be successful in football, you have to be able to take risks in trying to win a football match.

“There is an option to play with two up top, but what is two up top? Everyone thinks it’s going to be two big strikers, but there’s many teams in the past that have played with a small striker and a big striker, one striker behind a big striker or wide players that come in and score goals.

“I had a chat with the players the other day, and there are players that can play in and around the top end of the pitch and drift into different areas. We’ve done a lot of work on movement of players, and how the movement of players gives the other players options.

“Not many defenders talk now, so when you change positions, invariably you get in. So there’s lots of rotation, lots of ideas and lots of movement. I’m sure there will be evidence of that at Swansea.”

If Swansea win tomorrow, they will move eight points ahead of Boro with just nine games remaining. Crystal Palace, who are currently one point ahead of the Swans, face a difficult task at Chelsea today, but it would still be extremely hard to see how Boro could survive if they were to leave South Wales with nothing.

The club’s players are well aware of the perilousness of their position, but having spent the last two weeks on the training ground, Agnew can sense a strong determination to do something about it.

“This is a squad which does not want to be seen as one that is not good enough to stay in the Premier League,” he said. “That is something that stands out to me whether I am taking a session or observing a session, every single player here is fully committed.

“The environment around the training ground is very, very positive, and the environment off the pitch too. On it, it is intense and that tells me everybody is enjoying what they are doing, but also working very hard and understanding that our aim is to stay in the biggest and best league in the world.

“It does not feel like a club currently in 19th place. The atmosphere in and around the place is very, very positive.”