Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka has said that an away trip to Leeds United is the perfect way to start his tenure.

The former Real Madrid coach, who was appointed as Tony Mowbray's successor last week, will take charge of the side for the first time in Saturday's match at Elland Road.

Karanka has admitted that he is excited to get going with the Championship club.

"I'm happy my first match is against a big club with large support that will hopefully mean we have a lot of our fans there too," Clubcall.com quotes him as saying.

"Hopefully the fans are as excited as I am. This is a new era - a fresh start. We've had 10 days of good training and now we can test how much the players have taken on from us."

Middlesbrough currently sit 16th in the table.