Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka is adamant that his side have to rise to the challenge of holding on to their spot at the top of the Championship until the end of the season.

The Spaniard's team are just one point ahead of their rivals Bournemouth and Derby County in pole position and showed signs of nerves as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Birmingham City in midweek.

Karanka has urged his team to take the initiative in the race for promotion by surging ahead of the chasing pack when they play Leeds United later today.

He told reporters: "There was pressure when we played against Birmingham, because we felt pressure to get in this position.

"I hope now tomorrow we are in this position we play in the way we know to play, and we can be confident and consistent because now we are top of the table and there is a long way to the finish. This is the biggest challenge because we have been working for six, seven months.

"I think nobody thought we could be in this position now and we are in this position because all of them players are working very, very well.They are very close in the changing room, all of them are perfect and earned this position so now we have to defend it but it is going to be very very difficult."

The North-East side lost their first match against Leeds this season at Elland Road.