Aitor Karanka Set To Leave Middlesbrough In Coming Days

It is understood that Middlesbrough are expected to confirm the departure of manager Aitor Karanka in the coming days Karanka did not travel for Boro's 2-0 defeat against Charlton at The Valley on Sunday, with assistant manager Steve Agnew taking charge of the team.

The Middlesbrough boss is understood to have stormed out of the club's Rockcliffe Training Ground on Friday after telling his players he no longer wanted to be their manager and was subsequently absent from Saturday's training session. In a heated exchange, the 42-year-old is believed to have questioned the team's desire to reach the Premier League following a 1-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Rotherham on Tuesday. It is understood this is not the first time Karanka has had an altercation with his players this season, having already clashed with wingers Albert Adomah and Stewart Downing and his two-and-a-half year tenure at the club, which included going close to promotion to the Premier League last season, now appears to be coming to an end.

Boro are yet to confirm the reason for Karanka's absence, although they did release a statement on Saturday which says “Aitor did not take training on Saturday morning. Steve Agnew will take charge of the team for Sunday's fixture at Charlton. We appreciate supporters will want to know further details, but at this time the club cannot make any further comment and is solely focused on Sunday's game at the Valley”.