Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing has warned his side that there is a "long way to go" in their Premier League season, despite making a promising start to life back in the top tier.

Boro have amassed four points from their opening two games, drawing with Stoke City before beating North-East rivals Sunderland 2-1 on Sunday.

Downing acknowledged that his side have made a good start and believes that they will be able to carry it on, but also warned of tougher times ahead.

"We were always confident behind closed doors that we had the squad. You have seen the players coming in - they obviously believe in what we are doing. We have signed some big players and they are performing well," he told reporters.

"I feel confident we can do well, it's been proved in the two games that we can match it. But there's a long way to go yet. We have a lot of points to play for and we have to play like that every week. We will have tough times and it's how you come through them as well.

"The bigger picture is we have won, three points, that's four on the board. It's been a relatively good start for us. Overall, we should have beaten Stoke, but we'll take a point and we'll go to West Brom now and if we can get something there, it's been a good start."

Boro's four-point tally puts them sixth in the Premier League table after two games.