Middlesbrough defender George Friend hails the impact that manager Aitor Karanka has had in his 18 months at the club ahead of the Championship playoff final.

Middlesbrough defender George Friend has praised manager Aitor Karanka for turning the fortunes of the club around in his 18 months on Teesside ahead of the Championship playoff final.

Karanka joined the North-East outfit in November 2013 when he replaced Tony Mowbray and guided the team to a 12th-place finish in the second tier of English football.

Middlesbrough went from strength to strength under the Spaniard this season and narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Friend believes that Karanka's attention to detail and experience as a player, along with working under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, has given him all the key tools to succeed at the club.

He told reporters: "He's thorough and his preparation is meticulous. He's very experienced as a player and has worked with arguably the best manager in the world. He's a good man manager as well and he's brought a lot to the team as well as us as individuals.

"He has brought me on leaps and bounds as a player. He's mentioned to us that he has never been to Wembley so let's hope it is a successful time for him."

Middlesbrough face Norwich City in the Championship playoff final on Monday.