Aitor Karanka: Middlesbrough boss confident he has chairman's backing

Aitor Karanka has led Middlesbrough to just four Premier League wins this season

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka is confident he has the backing of chairman Steve Gibson, despite the club's poor form.

Boro are winless in their last 10 Premier League games and currently sit in the relegation zone, three points from safety with 11 games remaining.

They are also the league's lowest scorers with just 19 goals.

"I am the first critic, so I don't need to hear the criticism," said Karanka.

The 43-year-old believes there is a confidence crisis among his players who have failed to score in their last four league games, but insists he has Gibson's support.

"The most difficult moment for me was when I arrived here, but he was the first one who transmitted his confidence. I don't need to feel that every day," he said.

"You can feel the spirit of the team and it is just trying to recover their confidence and to show them that they are able to do a lot of good things."

Boro host Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, and the Spaniard is hoping to repeat his side's win in 2015, when they knocked City out in the fourth round.

"When we beat Manchester City in the FA Cup two years ago and everybody told me I was the best," he said.

"I have said always that the day I think I am the best, I will go home because that day, I will die."