MIDDLESBROUGH head coach Aitor Karanka has asked for more of the same from his Middlesbrough players, as their momentum continues to gather at the top of the Championship.

Boro made it six consecutive wins in all competitions after the 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Capital One Cup in midweek, and Karanka has asked his players to maintain the same high standards they have already set, as they prepare to meet Leeds United at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.

“It’s another three points. It’s important that after our last few games that we have to keep going in the same way.” Karanka said. "We are good, playing with different players and they’re all playing well with a really good attitude.”

A good level of consistency is something Karanka sets not just for his players, but also for himself as he prepares to come up against the side that he faced in his very first game as Boro Boss back in 2013, in a 2-1 defeat at Elland Road.

Since that match, despite masterminding a dramatic turn in Boro’s fortunes, Karanka has yet to get the better of the West Yorkshire outfit, though the head coach remains calm.

“They are a team that it is always difficult to play against and we never beat them, so I am working in the same way that I work every week but again it’s no more than three points.” Karanka added.

“I am doing the same thing that I do every single week for a game. I couldn’t beat them the last four times but their team is different from when we played them three years ago.

“I have to analyse it really well. I have to try to beat them knowing their weaknesses and our strengths.”

Boro currently sit second in the Championship standings, boasting the joint most goals scored, joint least conceded, and the most superior goal difference.

Depending on how results pan out on Saturday, victory could also see Boro top the table for the first time this season. Though despite much optimism after making an impressive start to the campaign, Karanka still urged that the best is still yet to come from his players.

Asked if his players could improve, Karanka said “Of course. We are in September and we have to improve because the second half against Forest and the first half against Wolves we could play better.

“We have to improve because we can improve. We are going to play games and we are not going to win all of them because it is impossible, but we have to improve every single day.”

Middlesbrough’s football club offer consistency in what has otherwise been a week of uncertainty on Teesside, with the Redcar steelworks facing an undetermined future, and many Boro supporters’ jobs left in limbo.

Karanka has praised the support he and the players have received so far this season, and hopes that the team can prove a welcome distraction, leaving fans with something to cheer after a difficult week for the area.

“I think it’s (football) the best thing," said the Spaniard. "Football most of the time gives a lot of good energy, when the people are watching football they forget their problems.

“For me now it’s amazing to see 20-25,000 at home games. After the games, them leaving the stadium happy is the main thing especially when there are hard moments.”