Aitor Karanka has urged Alvaro Negredo to fight for his place in Middlesbrough's starting line up after the striker was dropped two weeks ago.
The Boro boss told Sky Sports that Negredo had to show more graft and desire if he wished to retain a regular starting berth at the Riverside stadium.
Negredo signed on a season-long loan from Valencia during the summer transfer window, and instantly won over the Middlesbrough faithful by scoring on his debut in the 1-1 draw with Stoke on the opening day of the season.
Since then, however, Negredo has gone six matches without finding the net and, despite bagging two assists, lost his place in the side to Jordan Rhodes for the trip to West Ham before the October international break.
Middlesbrough host Watford on Sunday in what is already being viewed as a must win match for either side, and Karanka said that he believed Negredo needed to do more for his current employers if he harbours ambitions of leading the line for the Teesiders for much of the campaign.
He said: "I am here to try to take that pressure off. I knew for him, it was going to be difficult.
"He started really well, but sometimes it's normal when you start really well and you feel really, really confident, you start to be a little bit more relaxed and you lose your position.
"For that reason, he has to fight. He is fighting a lot on the training ground because he failed against West Ham, but at this club, nobody is bigger than the team.
"He is learning because it's important for everybody to know that the main thing here is the team but, playing his best, I can compare him with [Christian] Benteke or [Romelu] Lukaku and the better strikers in the league."
#PremierLeague Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka insists Alvaro Negredo must fight for his place after being dropped¦ https://t.co/9mmW847r1E
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