Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka says Adama Traore will only play when the time is right
Boro chief refusing to give in to fan pressure as he prepares to face Liverpool
AITOR KARANKA insists he won’t cave in to fan pressure to play Adama Traore.
Middlesbrough supporters have been perplexed in recent weeks after the speed machine was left on the bench.
The Spanish winger burst onto the scene in October and produced a series of impressive displays before being dropped for the victory over Hull and the defeat at Southampton.
Boro boss Karanka has been criticised for leaving out the attacker, but the former Real Madrid man says he will decide when to unleash Traore again and will not be influenced by anyone else.
Ahead of the visit of Liverpool on Wednesday, Karanka said: “I understand my job. And my job is to win games. My job is not to sit and watch the highlights of Adama Traore.
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“My job is to analyse the opponents, to analyse the training sessions, analyse the things Adama can do on the pitch, the things he can do for the team. This is my job.”
And while Karanka says the 20-year-old is improving quickly, he admitted the star is still a work in progress.
“He needs to learn discipline on the pitch,” he said.
“He needs to learn because, for example, on Sunday when he went on to the pitch, Southampton quickly had a chance to score because he made a mistake.
“If he is to play for 90 minutes then he has to just keep learning.”
He added: “I knew when I signed him I had to teach a lot to Adama.
“When you work all week in training and then he makes a mistake it is frustrating - but it is my job to make sure he does not make mistakes.
“We knew that we have a lot to teach him and to be fair to him he is improving, he is improving a lot and if he continues to do that then he will be a really good player.”