Aitor Karanka has accused Middlesbrough’s supporters of having a short memory and says they contributed to the 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham.

The Spaniard’s bizarre tirade is sure to anger fans, who had roared their team forward during the closing stages.

Karanka was not happy, saying: ‘I was really upset with the last 10 minutes because we didn’t play in the way we know how and it was because the atmosphere was awful.

Aitor Karanka has accused Middlesbrough’s supporters of having a short memory

Karanka says the Boro fans contributed to the 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham United

The Spaniard’s bizarre tirade is sure to anger fans, who saw their team lose at home again

‘The fans demanded a lot of the players. We don’t know how to play that way. Playing that way we didn’t create one chance. The team was broken on the pitch.

‘They need to understand where we were last season, two seasons ago. I think the players deserve more respect. They demanded too much.

‘When you have thousands of people asking for long balls, in the end we have to play long balls, and it’s a style we don’t know to play.

Boro had played well throughout the majority of the game, with Cristhian Stuani scoring

However an Andy Carroll double and a late strike by Jonathan Calleri (top left) won the game

‘We didn’t play one game like that in the Championship last season and we got promoted. It is a thing we have to fix because while I am here we are not going to play long balls.

‘I said, I think last season, that they have a small memory. If I was a player and the crowd leaves five or 10 minutes before the finish, and three years ago the team was going to League One, I would feel not good.

‘They knew this season was going to be a tough season for everybody. But they can’t forget where the club was last season, two, three, four, five and six seasons ago.’