ADAM CLAYTON insists that every Middlesbrough player believes they can still stay up, but if they do fall into the Championship it will be because they haven’t been good enough over the course of the full season.

Boro ran Arsenal close on Monday night when they threatened to go on and win the game after Alvaro Negredo’s headed equaliser early in the second half.

The harsh reality, though, was that Middlesbrough’s unbeaten run goes on. It is now 15 Premier League games since they enjoyed a victory, dating back to before Christmas.

The slump not only cost Aitor Karanka his job, but it has also seen Middlesbrough fall into the relegation zone and they are six points adrift of safety with six matches remaining.

Clayton said: “We can’t be too downhearted because we should have beat Arsenal but we have not got the points, that’s what we have said a lot.

“We will go again against Bournemouth, there’s more than enough points still to play for and we will have a go against tough teams.

“If you asked the other teams ‘are Middlesbrough one of the three worst teams in the league?’ I don’t suppose many would say we are.

“In most games we have been pipped by that extra bit of quality that we need to have. There are more points to play for and nobody in the bottom three is pulling up trees and running clear.

“The gap hasn’t been getting any bigger, but now we are getting to the stage where we need to win. If we don’t it will be good night. We need to get a win as soon as possible and change the face of it.”

Defeats for Hull and Swansea have kept the door open for Middlesbrough at this late stage of the season, particularly as they have a game in hand. Before they play that – against Sunderland next Wednesday – they must travel to Bournemouth this weekend.

Under Steve Agnew there have been signs he is making them more open and they are creating more chances. He has still not won any of his opening five matches in charge.

Clayton said: “There were a few chances that could have gone in against Arsenal, but we will not go down because we have been unlucky, we will go down because we haven’t been good enough, if we do. That’s the story.

“We have to make our own luck, make sure we have enough players in the box. We went 1-0 down against Arsenal and in the past we haven’t had a go after that at times this season but we have against Arsenal.

“The fans have been great, we have needed them this season. They kept us going and we had all the momentum, we could have won it. I clap all the fans every week. I don’t think they have given up and we definitely haven’t.”

Bournemouth look to have done enough already to stay in the Premier League, given they are seven points clear of the bottom three. A defeat at home to Middlesbrough, coupled with other results going against them, could increase the nerves around the Vitality Stadium.

And Clayton, the Middlesbrough midfielder, said: “Saturday is so important, they will be a bit twitchy because they haven’t won that many recently.

“We need to put the pressure on them and see how they deal with it. We are dealing with it in terms of commitment, togetherness, steel and you can see that. ‘ “Let’s see what they are like with pressure on them and let’s see what Swansea and Hull do with a bit of pressure on them. Three points will do that.

“Three points in this league is like six in the championship. You have to keep believing. This is the toughest league there is, we will keep grafting.”

Middlesbrough are monitoring the fitness of Fabio da Silva who will almost certainly miss out on the trip to the south coast with a knee injury. Calum Chambers will be available again, though. Striker Rudy Gestede also left the Riverside hobbling on Monday night and will be assessed carefully.