Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing has expressed hope of his hometown club pulling themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Saturday's goalless draw with Burnley left Boro six points from safety with seven games remaining, including fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Downing, however, told BBC Sport that he and his teammates are not backing down in their quest for survival, saying: "I know we're a point closer and we could have done with three, but there's a long way to go yet, a lot of twists and turns.

"We have got big teams to come here, but do they fancy coming here? Well, we'll soon find out. We generally play well against the top teams, so I'm looking forward to it."

Boro were promoted from the Championship just last season.