Middlesbrough 2 Huddersfield Town 0

MIDDLESBROUGH’S squad contains a batch of highly-regarded youngsters from Chelsea and Tottenham, full internationals from Belgium, Nigeria, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, and a Spanish striker who cost €3.5m this summer.

Increasingly, though, it looks as if the key figure in the club’s promotion battle will be a 36-year-old free agent who has spent the majority of his career trawling the lower reaches of the Football League with Hartlepool United and Coventry City.

Dimi Konstantopoulos can claim to be a big name, but only in terms of the number of letters on the back of his shirt. Yet as the Championship season hurtles towards its climax, Middlesbrough’s Greek goalkeeper gains in influence with every passing week.

Signed as an out-of-contract player by Tony Mowbray in August 2013, Konstantopoulos was originally envisaged as a back-up option to Jason Steele, and spent his first few months on Teesside restricted to the reserves.

Aitor Karanka’s arrival did little to change his status initially, with first Shay Given and then Tomas Mejias arriving to leap ahead of him in the pecking order, but by last March, he had been offered a chance in the first team. In the same way that he deals with crosses, he has taken it with both hands.

Now firmly established as Middlesbrough’s undisputed number one, Konstantopoulos underlined his importance once again at the weekend as he made four crucial second-half saves to help secure the 2-0 win over Huddersfield that keeps his side within four points of Championship leaders Bournemouth.

Two of the saves in particular – a sprawling one-handed stop from Jacob Butterfield and a point-blank reflex save to thwart Nakhi Wells – were sensational, and while the likes of Kike, Patrick Bamford and Lee Tomlin, whose two goals proved decisive on Saturday, will continue to command considerable attention, it is at the other end of the field where Boro are currently impressing most, with their latest clean sheet making it six from the last seven in all competitions.

“Things were very different when I first came,” said Konstantopoulos, whose four years with Hartlepool coincided with the club almost winning promotion from League One. “It was a different manager and I came here as a back-up.

“At that time, I don’t really think I had much of a shout to get in the team. But the new manager came in and made it clear from day one that he doesn’t care about names or contracts or anything like that.

“As long as you put in the effort in training and in games, he will pick you. He’s kept his word. I told him from day one that I want to play, and I feel good about my ability.

“I’m enjoying things now as much as I ever have. I love it. I’m playing and we’re challenging for promotion so there’s not really much more you can ask for.

“I feel more complete now as a player and I think I’ve got the mental strength through my experiences to respond and react to situations that might happen during a game.”

That much was apparent against Huddersfield, with Konstantopoulos repeatedly coming to Middlesbrough’s rescue as they threatened to throw away what had looked a commanding position when Tomlin fired home in the 61st minute.

With Boro’s midfielders dropping deeper in an attempt to defend their lead, the hosts came under sustained pressure in the final quarter-of-an-hour. Wells struck the base of the post with a fine curling effort, but the rest of Huddersfield’s attacking foundered when faced with Konstantopoulos, whose long-term future should be resolved soon.

The veteran’s latest short-term contract is due to expire in June, but having already secured Adam Reach and Grant Leadbitter on lengthy deals, Aitor Karanka is confident Konstantopoulos will still be at Middlesbrough next season.

“He’s the kind of keeper I would like to have in my squad throughout my career,” said the Boro head coach. “He’s always professional and was brilliant again.

“We have picked other players ahead of him (in the past), but every day he has been working to improve and always supporting the other keepers. He kept working even when Tomas was in the team. He is always calm, and transmits that calmness to the team.

“We don’t have to speak with him (about a new contract) because he knows our feelings. I don’t think we will have a problem to extend his contract because he is an amazing keeper and an amazing person.”

Konstantopoulos was certainly crucial against Huddersfield, although his importance would not have been as pronounced had Boro’s attacking players not spurned a succession of opportunities to put the game out of reach.

The Teessiders had failed to score in three of their previous four league games, and for all that they continue to push towards a top-two position, some of the fluency that was apparent in the autumn has been tempered.

Kike in particular continues to look out of sorts, and while he was unfortunate to see a crisp sixth-minute strike rebound off the upright, the second-half scuff that saw him fail to make the most of a fine pull back from Bamford perhaps highlighted why he has only scored one goal in his last 13 outings.

Bamford has been much more prolific in that period, but the England Under-21 international suffered a rare off day at the weekend, shooting into the side netting after rounding Alex Smithies, curling over from a decent position on the edge of the area and heading wide from inside the six-yard box after Daniel Ayala flicked a corner into his path.

As a result, it was left to Tomlin to settle things. The 26-year-old was Boro’s liveliest attacking presence all afternoon, and he drilled home a ferocious long-range strike shortly after the hour mark before rolling a second goal into an empty net in stoppage time as Smithies pushed up for a corner.

“We were under pressure, but to be fair we controlled most of the game and while it’s 1-0 the opposition team will always try to get something out of it,” said Konstantopoulos. “We didn’t manage to kill the game off, so it’s normal there’s a bit of pressure at the end. I thought we defended well.”