Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka: 'Long way to go'

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has insisted that there is still a "long way to go" after his side opened up a four-point lead at the top of the Championship.

Boro, beaten playoff finalists last season, saw off their main promotion rivals Derby County 2-0 at home yesterday thanks to two quick goals in the final 10 minutes from Albert Adomah and George Friend.

It leaves the Teesside club five points clear of Hull City outside the automatic promotion places, but Karanka was quick to point out that there are still 22 games of the season remaining.

"It was an amazing game, it's important for us to win," PA quotes the Spaniard as saying. "We're the best team now because we're top, but it doesn't mean anything in January with another 22 games to go.

"We're in a really good condition and we have to keep going. One month ago Hull were five points above us and now we're five points above them, but at this stage we've done nothing and there's a long way to go.

"The emotions are difficult to explain because there was a lot of pressure on us. We're proud of the defensive records we're setting. It's proving hard to create chances against us."

Boro kept their seventh straight home clean sheet at the Riverside yesterday, their longest home shutout stretch in 30 years.