Middlesbrough Boss Aitor Karanka Declares That His Side 'Deserved' Victory Over Hull City

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has insisted that his side were good value for their 1-0 win over Hull City on Monday.

The win has taken 'Boro up to 13th in the Premier League standings and means they have now lost only once in their last six outings. The draw specialists have put four points between themselves and 18th placed Sunderland in the relegation dogfight.

Speaking to the after the game, Karanka said: "We deserved to win, we had a lot of chances and all of the possession. We were confident on the pitch and once we went ahead we had the experience to manage the game.

"Sometimes Gaston Ramirez will score, sometimes another player, but we won promotion to the Premier League by playing as a team and that is how we stay."

The game's only goal came courtesy of stand-out performer Gaston Ramirez, who found himself unmarked at the back post to nod in Viktor Fischer's corner. Fischer also had an effort ruled out earlier on for offside, while summer signing Alvaro Negredo wasted a couple more attempts for the home side.

Another defeat for Hull means the Tigers remain in the relegation zone,two points ahead of bottom club Swansea City, who were thumped 5-0 by Tottenham on Saturday. Mike Phelan'smen rallied late on at the Riverside but were unable to salvage a point.

For Karanka's men, it was only their third win of the campaign, and the Spaniard offered a modest assessment of the situation after the result.

He added: "We have 15 points - we must keep going and working together. We have to fight with the teams in the relegation positions because we are a newly promoted team. We have done nothing yet."

The Riverside outfit will be looking to make it two in a row as they travel to St. Mary's to face Southampton on Sunday.