• Manager hit out at ‘awful’ atmosphere following 3-1 home defeat to West Ham • ‘I won’t ever regret something I have said to defend the players,’ says Karanka

Aitor Karanka says Middlesbrough’s players fully endorse both his criticism of the club’s supporters and description of the atmosphere at the Riverside as awful.

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The Boro manager remains unrepentant about the controversial comments he delivered following the team’s 3-1 home defeat to West Ham United last Saturday. After condemning the ambience, the Spaniard, equally contentiously, criticised both the early leavers in the near 31,000 crowd and those who, during the closing stages, urged his side to “attack, attack, attack”.

“The players thought the thing I said to the press was completely right,” said Karanka, who was also deeply critical of Gastón Ramírez’s attempts to force through a move to Leicester City but remains cautiously optimistic of signing Paris Saint-Germain striker Jesé Rodriguez and Stoke City’s Bojan Krkic before the transfer window closes on Tuesday night.

“They told me I was completely right. I didn’t need to hear that though, I could feel it. That’s why I said it in the press conference – because I could feel their faces when I was in the dressing room. I won’t ever regret something I have said to defend the players.”

The former Real Madrid defender did differentiate between those fans who have only started attending games since the team’s promotion last spring and longer-standing supporters. Indeed José Mourinho’s former assistant at Real believes the problem lies with the late-coming “attack, attack, attack” brigade who have failed to understand his philosophy.

“I wanted respect for the players – that’s the most important thing,” Karanka said. “When we were fighting to get to the Premier League we played in one style and the crowd understood but the people who are coming now are demanding we play another style and the players don’t know how to do that. We have to play always in the same style. We have a style and that style has been successful for us.

Then there are those early departees. “To play the last five or 10 minutes in a stadium that is almost empty is not good for players who are trying their best,” he said.

Shrugging off rumours that he was in peril of dismissal this week, Karanka revealed that he had, instead, enjoyed a convivial evening with Steve Gibson, Boro’s owner. “I had an amazing dinner with the chairman and his partner. Both are my friends,” he said. “The main thing is the relationship I have with the chairman. I just ask the fans to stay patient and support the players.”

Karanka’s current attitude towards Ramírez could not be more contrasting after the Uruguayan requested a transfer and Boro rejected Leicester’s bid. “He thinks it’s a step up for him to maybe play in the Champions League this season,” he said. “But I can’t think it’s a big move for him in the future.”

Ramírez’s cause is not helped by the fact that he signed a lucrative, long-term contract on Teesside last summer. “It’s not easy for one player to knock on the door and ask for a contract and then ask to leave six months later,” said Karanka who rescued the playmaker’s career after disappointments at Southampton and Hull.

Much depends on whether Boro – who have failed to win any of their last five League games – succeed in signing at least one of Jesé or Bojan – both of whom could effectively replace Ramírez.

The pursuit of Robert Snodgrass appears to be over with the Hull midfielder set for a medical with West Ham. “You don’t have to have gone to university to understand that,” said Karanka. “But he’s a player we like and we’re trying to bring him here.”