AITOR KARANKA admits he could be agitating for a move to the Premier League – but the Middlesbrough head coach insists he is already in the ideal place to take his career to the next level.

Having moved to Teesside in November 2013, Karanka boasts an impressive record of 50 victories and 22 draws from his 96 matches in charge of Boro.

His performances have not gone unnoticed at the highest level, and the Spaniard has been linked with managerial vacancies at both Newcastle United and Crystal Palace over the course of the last 12 months.

He has also been touted for potential vacancies back in his homeland, but having signed a new four-year contract at the start of last month, the former Real Madrid assistant intends to see out the whole of his new deal.

He is keen to experience management in the Premier League, but remains convinced he can realise his ambitions with Middlesbrough.

“I am in the right place, with the right people, at the right moment,” said Karanka, who will lead his side into action at Nottingham Forest this lunch-time as they look to extend a run of three successive wins. “When I met the chairman, I knew that this was the right place to start my career.

“I have to do the right steps in my career. I could go to the Premier League this season, but I know that my commitment is here. I am really committed with this club and this chairman, and I have to take the right steps.

“The right step is to be here for the longest time possible because if I am here for a long amount of time, that will be good for the club and for me.”

Karanka’s willingness to sign a new deal provided a timely boost at the start of the season, and his decision to commit his long-term future to the Riverside was a key factor in persuading some of this summer’s key signings to put pen to paper on Teesside.

Cristhian Stuani’s strong personal relationship with Karanka helped persuade him to turn down offers from the Premier League and La Liga in order to join Boro, and both Stewart Downing and David Nugent spoke glowingly of their new head coach as their moves to Middlesbrough were confirmed.

“For me, it is easy when you are the first person who is committed with the club,” said Karanka. “It would be difficult to convince players to come here if you were thinking about leaving.

“I signed my contract for four years here, so the players know I am building a project to play in the Premier League. For that reason, it is easy for me to convince them.

“It is difficult to transmit something when you are not committed. I arrived here almost two years ago, and my aim was to put this club into the Premier League. Almost two years later, and it is still the same.

“Every day, I am more committed because I am feeling the support from our crowd, my chairman and the club. I can’t understand why I shouldn’t be thinking about the long term. Football is football though, and in football, everything can change quickly.”

The mood around Middlesbrough has changed markedly since last month’s 1-0 defeat to Bristol City dropped them to eighth position in the table.

The fall-out from Albert Adomah’s clash with Karanka in the wake of the game dominated the agenda for the next week or so, but Tuesday’s win over Brentford, which saw Adomah hugging his head coach after coming off the bench to score, confirmed the rift had been healed.

Prior to the transfer window closing, it had looked as though Adomah could be heading to today’s opponents, Nottingham Forest, as part of a deal that might have seen long-term target Michail Antonio moving to the Riverside.

In the end, Adomah remained on Teesside while Antonio completed a £7m move to West Ham, but rather than imploding following the sale of one of their key attackers, Nottingham Forest have regrouped successfully to win their last two games.

Those wins came at QPR and Birmingham, and Karanka has been impressed with the way in which Forest have reinvented themselves following Antonio’s departure.

“Forest are a very good team,” he said. “They lost Antonio this season, but they are more organised. With Antonio, they had both alternatives – they were organised, but they had very good transitions.

“Without Antonio, they are more compact, but they are still a good team. They have won their last few games, and once again in this league, it is going to be a very difficult game. But we are in a good way and hopefully we can keep going in the same direction.”