"?Aitor Karanka believes that Middlesbrough's upcoming matches against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United show how "amazing" it is for the club to be back in the Premier League, according to a report in "?Gazette Live.
"?"?The Boro boss says he is relishing the opportunity to come face-to-face with some of the world's best managers in England's top flight.
Middlesbrough returned to the Premier League after a nine-year spell away, and have so far taken five points from five matches.
Creditable draws against Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, either side of a 2-1 home victory over North East rivals Sunderland, handed Karanka a more-than-decent start to life back in the big time.
However, a 2-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace, plus a 3-1 away defeat to Everton last Saturday, ensured the Teessiders fell to successive league defeats for the first time since March.
Despite the setback, Karanka remains optimistic ahead of two crunch clashes against the London-based sides.
And he is of the opinion that his first-team squad are adaptable enough to cope with the different tests they will face against Mauricio Pochettino's and Slaven Bilic's sides before the next international break.
He said: "Someone can think I'm crazy, but for me, it's amazing to arrive (back at Rockliffe) and prepare for the game against Tottenham.
"It's the Premier League, it's the place we wanted to be.
"We've been working hard for two-and-a-half years to be here. For me and the club, it's amazing to come to Goodison Park, to face Tottenham next weekend, to go the following week to the Olympic Stadium.
"We've been working a lot to live in these moments, but we know how difficult it will be."
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