Aitor Karanka: 'Alvaro Negredo must fight for starting place'

Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka has told striker Alvaro Negredo that he must fight for his place in the starting lineup.

In the summer, Negredo moved to the Riverside Stadium on a season-long loan deal from Valencia but since scoring on his debut, he has failed to hit the back of the net.

The Spaniard dropped out of the team for Boro's previous fixture with West Ham United, and Karanka has told his fellow countryman that he must work hard to return to the first XI.

The 43-year-old is quoted by Eurosport as saying: "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."

Middlesbrough play host to Watford on Sunday.