AITOR KARANKA insists that he trusts Kike Sola to provide a key contribution to Middlesbrough’s promotion push, even though the forward has yet to make his debut in English football.

Sola has spent his first two matches since moving from Athletic Bilbao on the bench as Boro stuttered to back-to-back defeats for only the second time under Karanka’s management.

There has been a lack of goal threat in both of those games, with Boro struggling to breakdown the defences of Bristol City and Nottingham Forest which resulted in 1-0 defeats.

But Karanka opted against turning to Sola in a bid to change things, even though the 29-year-old is capable of playing behind the striker as well as leading the line on his own.

And the head coach has explained why Sola was not thrown on to try to change the game against Forest, who edged ahead with 20 minutes remaining and comfortably held on to their advantage.

“Kike Sola gives us something we don't have. He can play as a striker alone or he can play as a No 10 so it's good to have players like him,” said Karanka.

“Kike and David Nugent don't seem comfortable together as they're both more like number nines. I didn’t use Kike Sola as it's difficult to arrive and to play in this league. I prefer to keep him until the right moment.

“The team isn't playing well so it could have been a mistake to play him now because of the expectations on him. I'm going to use him for sure.

"The other Kike took three months to acclimatise to the tempo of the game over here. This Kike has been with us for just one week, we have another 19-20 games to play. I brought him here because I trust him and I'm sure he's going to recover his confidence here.”

The arrival of Kike Sola before the trip to Bristol City ten days ago has not prevented Karanka from looking to further boost his attacking options before next week’s transfer deadline.

Middlesbrough are in the market for another player to play in the positions where the man from Cascante prefers, with Fulham’s Ross McCormack the top target. QPR winger Matt Phillips and Southampton’s Gaston Ramirez have also been mentioned.

The need could become even greater if Middlesbrough, who have the final decision whether to cut short the loan, agree to let Diego Fabbrini to return to Watford early to complete a £1.5m move to Birmingham.

However, Steve Gibson, the chairman, is not prepared to overspend this month and is prepared to walk away from deals which don’t make financial sense, which is why such transfers have not happened so far.

Due to an early exit in the FA Cup, Boro don't play before Monday’s closure of the transfer window so Karanka – still looking to sign Benfica midfielder Victor Lindelof - can concentrate more on recruitment.

He is desperate to give everyone a lift after the frustrations of the last two results, which have seen Boro's six-point lead at the top disappear and Hull City have now overtaken them.

Karanka said: "My message is that we have to stick together. We're in a good position and no-one said it was going to be easy.

“I hope this dip finishes as soon as possible. My concern is that we're losing and not playing well. We lost to Bristol and didn't create many chances against Brentford. We're still in a great position and our future is really good.”

Full-back George Friend has received some good news on the injury front. A scan on the shoulder problem he sustained against Forest has come up clear, so he should be available to train again after a few days rest.