AITOR Karanka is ready to offer his Middlesbrough players the chance to redeem themselves when they take on Nottingham Forest at the Riverside Stadium on Boxing Day.

Boro suffered their first defeat since the end of October at Ipswich Town in a performance Karanka labelled “embarrassing.”

The Teessiders were well below par at Portman Road and on the team bus immediately after the Spaniard has revealed that his first thought was to change the entire team for the visit of Stuart Pearce’s side.

However, the head coach, who will be joined by new assistant Steve Agnew in the dug-out following his appointment yesterday, has had a change of heart and revealed he will give the majority of his players the opportunity to put things right.

With a difficult trip to Blackburn Rovers two days later to take into account, Karanka is likely to freshen up his starting line-up, but the Boro boss insists there won’t be as many changes as he was perhaps planning on Saturday evening.

“I used to be a player at Real Madrid with John Toshack and after the game I had the same feelings that he used to have on the bus,” said Karanka, who has no fresh injuries concerns. “He always said after the game that he would change 11 players for the following game. On Tuesday or Wednesday he would change five or six then by Friday it was down to two or three and Saturday he would end up playing the same team!

“It is difficult because we have another game on Sunday so I have to choose the best 11 for Friday, but not forgetting we have another game.

“Ipswich was a very bad game. I was angry after the game because I didn't like anything I'd seen on the pitch.

“But I know I have a very good squad. It's no coincidence that we are in the position we are in the table, and I want to think that this was just an accident.

“When we've (previously) played and had a problem, in the following game we've always had a very good reaction.

“We were hurting because the feelings weren't the same as when we played against Blackburn. The people felt we had lost two points but we had done everything to win the game, but on Saturday everyone knew we could've done more and done better.

“The players were the first to recognise that and that's good for me.”

Having spent the majority of his career in Spain, Karanka is still getting used to the idea of working throughout the festive period. Boro will train tomorrow in preparation for Friday’s game, but the head coach has revealed he will set some time aside for his family.

He said: “The players will be training on Christmas Day. My decision after the game was clear, but I can’t say anything bad about the players because they have done very well.

“They have given me a very good reaction in training and they want to win the following game.

“We have a game on Boxing Day so it is important to be here (on Christmas Day and prepare. We don’t have a lot of time to be with our families, but we are professional and we have to train.

“I hope that I can have two hours to play with my kids. At least two hours.

“I have been reading in the Spanish press that this will be the first year in the last 16 that David Moyes has had a Christmas break. It’s cool, because for me it’s different.

“It was more difficult for me to play in Denver (with Colorado Rapids) in the summer than to be playing here at Christmas, because I know these fixtures are very important for everybody. I am proud to be here at this time.”

Karanka will be able to call upon new assistant Agnew on Friday after he was appointed as Craig Hignett’s successor.

The former Sunderland and Leicester City midfielder left his role as Steve Bruce’s number two at Hull in order to return to Teesside, and Karanka believes he has found the right man to help him guide the club back to the Premier League.

“I am very pleased, because Steve was our first choice,” the Spaniard revealed. “We have been looking at different options but Steve was our first choice.

“He is a very good person and someone who knows the club. He knows the league and got promoted with Hull City. He knows the Premier League and has plenty of experience so it is very good news for me.

“He will bring a lot of things to the role. He has all the things I want in an assistant.

“We have been working to bring the right person in. I have no doubts that Steve is the right person, because he has everything.”