STEVE AGNEW has stressed the need for “stability” as he looks to secure the Middlesbrough head coach role on a permanent basis.

Agnew’s future beyond the end of the season is still in doubt, but while he is reluctant to publicly discuss his plans, the former assistant is known to be keen to remain in his current position no matter what division Boro are playing in next term.

The Teessiders’ fate could well be decided this weekend, as they will find themselves nine points adrift of safety with just three games remaining if Hull City beat bottom club Sunderland this afternoon. If Hull take all three points at the KCOM Stadium, Boro will have to win at league leaders Chelsea on Monday to have any chance of clambering to safety.

Steve Gibson will wait until Boro’s fate is sealed before deciding whether to extend Agnew’s current spell in charge, with former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs having been touted as a potential alternative earlier this week.

Giggs is desperate to land his first managerial role since hanging up his boots, but Agnew feels a degree of stability will be essential as Boro look to rebuild in the summer.

The former midfielder feels it would be counter-productive to enact a radical change, particularly if Boro continue to build momentum in the final weeks of the current campaign.

“I think momentum is a key word,” said Agnew, after his side followed up a victory over Sunderland with an impressive 2-2 draw against Manchester City. “We have gathered a little bit of momentum over the last couple of weeks, and that is something that we would like to continue going into the game on Monday.

“There has been a degree of stability, and I’ve been pleased with the pulling together in recent weeks. The momentum has to continue, we need that, and stability is something that any successful club has in abundance. They are key words to ensure the club has success in future years.”

On the evidence of their last two performances, Boro should not be battling for their lives at the foot of the table. There have been occasions this season when they have looked capable of pulling away from the bottom three, but ultimately a tally of five wins from 35 games will almost certainly prove their undoing.

Boro did not claim enough wins under Aitor Karanka, and in hindsight, the decision to dispense with the Spaniard’s services came too late to enable the Teessiders to salvage their season.

Agnew has engineered something of an improvement – Boro have certainly carried more of an attacking threat in the last eight matches – but the table does not lie and if, as looks likely, relegation is confirmed in the next few weeks, any ‘hard luck’ stories will be misplaced.

“I feel as though we have deserved more points in the period of games (he has been in charge for), but we just haven’t had the bounce of the ball or haven’t had the decision go for us when I’ve felt we deserved it,” said Agnew.

“But I think you have to take the whole season as to why we’re in the situation we’re in. It’s not over recent weeks, it’s from August when we started out, and this is where we find ourselves for whatever reason.

“We haven’t won enough games, and that’s the obvious reason. We’ve won and drawn a game (against Sunderland and Manchester City), and got four points out of six, and the last time we achieved that in the Premier League was in October.

“I think it’s simple – we haven’t won enough football matches, and that’s what gives you the points return that gives everyone the confidence going into the next game.

“But we know what we have to do, and as I’ve been saying in recent weeks, we’ve now started to turn the corner, certainly in the last two games in terms of the points return. I’m very, very confident in the game on Monday night.”

Chelsea have only suffered two home defeats all season, but Agnew is taking solace from Crystal Palace’s recent performance at Stamford Bridge, which resulted in Sam Allardyce’s side leaving with a 2-1 win.

“Have I studied the defeat to Palace? Absolutely,” said the Boro boss. “I looked at it again (yesterday) morning, the analysis of how we can get the result we need. There are areas of the field we have to exploit, but at the same time, we have to put in a really organised performance.

“I don’t want to give too much away, as that’s our job, to know their strengths and weaknesses. But we’ll keep looking at those. Palace won at Chelsea, but we also know there’s plenty of strengths in there, they’re a top team.”

Grant Leadbitter and Adlene Guedioura are available after recovering from injury, but Daniel Ayala remains a doubt because of an injured ankle, and both Victor Valdes and Gaston Ramirez remain on the sidelines.