Mar 4, 2017 at 3pm UK at ​bet365 Stadium
Attendance: 27,644
StokeStoke City
2-0
Middlesbrough
Arnautovic (29', 42')
Shawcross (21')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Friend (45'), de Roon (78')

Aitor Karanka plays down calls for him to leave Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka looks on prior to his side's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2016
© SilverHub
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka insists that he has no plans to leave the club despite a section of fans calling for his exit during the defeat to Stoke.

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has insisted that he will not leave the club until chairman Steve Gibson decides that he is no longer the man for the job.

Boro saw their winless run in the Premier League extend to 10 matches with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Stoke City this afternoon, during which a section of fans were heard to sing for Karanka to "go home".

Today's defeat saw Middlesbrough drop into the relegation zone, but Karanka believes that the fact it has taken them so long to enter the bottom three proves that they have been doing well for the majority of the season.

"I didn't hear [the chants]. But I came here because the chairman called me three years ago to help the club to be in the Premier League, and I will leave the day that the chairman says," he told reporters.

"The only thing I can do is work harder every day. The problem I think is a lot of things - it's not just one. Because if it was just one, I would fix it, but it's more than one, more than two, more than three.

"We are in the bottom three in March. For a recently promoted team to be for the first time in the bottom three in March is because we are doing something well. We knew we were going to be fighting until the end to survive and my thought is just to keep going."

Boro have failed to even score in their last four league games.

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka looks on prior to his side's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2016
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1Chelsea26203355193663
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs27168353203356
3Manchester CityMan City26174553292455
4Liverpool27157558342452
5Arsenal26155655312450
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd261310339221749
7Everton27128744301444
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2711793634240
9Stoke CityStoke2798103240-835
10Southampton2696113234-233
11West Ham UnitedWest Ham2696113544-933
12Burnley2794143040-1031
13Watford2787123347-1431
14Bournemouth2776143752-1527
15Leicester CityLeicester2776143045-1527
16Swansea CitySwansea2783163559-2427
17Crystal Palace2774163546-1125
18Middlesbrough27410131930-1122
19Hull City2756162453-2921
20Sunderland2754182450-2619