MIDDLESBROUGH embark on a seven-day spell that could make or break their promotion push later today, but Aitor Karanka claims there was more pressure when his players were battling against relegation last season.

Boro take on seventh-placed Ipswich Town this lunchtime, before travelling to second-placed Derby County on Tuesday and league leaders Bournemouth next weekend.

They head into the potentially decisive spell in their worst form of the season, having won just two of their last six matches, but Karanka remains unconcerned by the mounting pressure on his squad.

In his first Christmas in England, the Boro head coach led his side into an equally hectic run of three games in a week knowing there was every chance they would slip into the relegation places if things did not go their way.

Instead, they claimed nine points from nine, and while the strength of the opposition might be tougher this time around, the Spaniard is hoping for a similarly strong return from an equally pivotal period.

“I thought it was more difficult 15 months ago when we were just above the relegation positions,” said Karanka, who is hoping to have key centre-half Daniel Ayala available for today’s game. “We had to play Burnley, Millwall and Reading in one week. It was worse to play in those conditions than playing at the top of the table. This should be a motivation.

“We must keep going in the same way. We have the same points (as the three sides above them) at the moment, so it will be tough until the end of the season. If we lose three games it will be difficult to get in the direct promotion places, but if we win three then we will have to keep going in the same way.”

Today’s opponents, Ipswich, have been at the heart of the promotion picture for the majority of the season, but a return of just one point from the last available nine has seen Mick McCarthy’s side drop out of the play-off positions at a crucial juncture.

In the in-form Daryl Murphy, Ipswich boast a player who scored his 22nd goal of the season in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Brentford, and Boro should know all about the former Sunderland striker after he scored his side’s opening goal in a 2-0 win over the Teessiders in December.

That was one of Boro’s worst performances of the season, with the pace and power of Ipswich’s play proving too much for their opponents to handle, and having watched his side start slowly in a number of their recent games, Karanka accepts another lacklustre opening could prove costly this afternoon.

“They played much better than us when we played there, so we need to find our intensity to match them,” he said. “That was a bad moment, although since then we have had a couple of worse moments.

“Their manager knows what it is about, and they have also have Murphy with all of his goals. But beneath those two there is also a strong team.

“We are physically strong because I make plenty of substitutions, and we have to use that. I think we are going into this in a very good shape, and my only concern is for us to play in a good way like we did last season when they were above us in the table (when Boro won 2-0).”

Karanka, who is in his first full season in English football, could hardly be in a more different position to McCarthy, who first entered management in 1992 with Millwall.

The former Republic of Ireland boss is one of the most experienced managers in the Football League, and knows exactly what it takes to win promotion to the Premier League, having claimed the Championship title with both Sunderland and Wolves.

He has moulded a squad at Portman Road that is stronger than the sum of its parts, and Karanka regards the 56-year-old as an integral part of Ipswich’s success this season.

“He is a successful manager,” he said. “He is very experienced, a good boss, and for me he has an advantage in this situation because I have only been a manager for 15 months. Mick was a manager a long time ago, and I can only learn from managers like him.

“He has lived in this moment in the past, but this is the first time for me. I have to try to get the best from my players, and that means transmitting all of my confidence so they know my thoughts. They need to know that we need to be together until the end.”