The Players Made Me Proud -Steve Agnew Middlesbrough Caretaker Manager

Middlesbrough caretaker manager Steve Agnew says he was proud of his side's fighting spirit in their goalless draw with Burnley. Despite extending their winless run to 14 games, Boro looked menacing in their attacks at times, though they struck little luck in the final third for large periods of the encounter until substitute Alvaro Negredo's scissor-kick forced Tom Heaton into a smart save after 67 minutes.

Agnew was pleased with the application his players displayed at the Riverside. He said “We've done absolutely everything to score the goal and I'm so proud of the players. You could see the fighting spirit right to the very end, the crowd were behind them and it was everything we wanted. Obviously the only thing we didn't get was the goal that I thought we deserved. I think confidence is something that has grown into the group in recent weeks and that result will certainly do us the world of good.”

Less than 20 minutes after Negredo's chance they were denied a potentially season-defining decision by Martin Atkinson when substitute Patrick Bamford was felled by last man Michael Keane. Atkinson ruled that Bamford was not in control of the ball and Keane escaped with a booking.