STEVE AGNEW insists Middlesbrough can still win their Premier League survival battle after their five-month wait for a victory finally came to an end.

Boro claimed their first league win since mid-December as Marten de Roon’s ninth-minute strike secured a Tees-Wear derby win over Sunderland.

The victory means the Teessiders have moved to within six points of safety, and with four games remaining, they still have an outside chance of staging a remarkable escape act.

Their prospects of scrambling out of the bottom three are diminished by the identity of the teams they will be playing against – Boro have to host Manchester City and Southampton, and will travel to Chelsea and Liverpool – but Agnew is refusing to throw in the towel.

“Yeah, we can stay up,” said Agnew, who was claiming his first victory since replacing Aitor Karanka as Boro head coach. “There will be a lot of twists and turns.

“We have a massive game on Sunday. We have seen it before, the next one is the most important one. If it goes our way…who knows?

“We hadn’t won a game since December, so we needed to win the game. We did win the game, and the players are very pleased.”

Agnew was especially satisfied with the spirit and commitment that enabled Boro to repel a series of second-half Sunderland attacks to claim only their fifth league win of the season.

The hosts did not play much free-flowing football, but never looked like ceding the advantage they secured through de Roon’s early strike.

With Ben Gibson dominating the heart of the back four, and Adam Clayton and Adam Forshaw working tigerishly in midfield, there was a welcome return of the tenacity and fight that saw Boro briefly push towards a mid-table position in the first half of the season.

“When you go 1-0 up – I can’t remember the last time we went 1-0 up – we had to try to be on the front foot and get the second goal,” said Agnew. “But the players haven’t won for a while, and there was a bit of anxiety in their play.

“Sunderland had to play, but the second half wasn’t eye-catching. It wasn’t as fluent as I would have liked, but spirit and determination saw us through.

“I was pleased, not so much for myself, but for all the players and support staff. I know how much work has gone in, and it’s a result that is very much deserved. It was a great goal, a fantastic pass from Adam (Clayton) and a run and finish from Marten.”

Agnew reserved special praise for the Boro fans, who staged an emotional tribute to Ugo Ehiogu, who died at the age of 44 last week, both before and during the game.

“The supporters were terrific,” said Agnew, who confirmed Daniel Ayala had sustained an ankle injury prior to being withdrawn. “It was amazing. There is no such thing as an easy North-East derby – we couldn’t have asked for anything more from the supporters, and I thank them.”

Attention now turns to Sunday’s game with Manchester City, with Boro hoping to gain advantage from Pep Guardiola’s side’s hectic schedule.

City host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium this evening, meaning Boro’s players have an extra day in which to recover for this weekend’s game.

“I will start to plan for Manchester City now,” said Agnew. “And they have a really tough game against Manchester United to come.”