PUNTERS were still shaking their heads in disbelief when reviewing the madness of last weekend’s FA Cup upsets, not least at Middlesbrough’s humbling of Manchester City.

With many having expected the Premier League holders, with David Silva, Stevan Jovetic and Sergio Aguero in the starting XI at the Etihad to cruise into the next round, many were left gobsmacked by the 2-0 scoreline that the Championship side recorded. Considering Boro’s impeccable defensive record this term, with a concession rate of six goals in their last 15 games, perhaps the ‘cupset’ wasn’t as big a shock as first assumed.

The club have conceded just once in their last seven games, and the shut-out at the Etihad was their 18th clean sheet this season. It has been a remarkable turnaround for a side whose fans had become so accustomed to suffering the ignominy of Championship opponents ripping their defence to shreds each weekend.

During the 12/13 season, when Aitor Karanka was rounding up his final season as assistant manager at the Santiago Bernabeu, Boro shipped 70 goals as they finished in 16th place. Only three teams had a worse record – Huddersfield Town, Peterborough United and Bristol City – and the latter two were relegated to League One.

It was this porous defence which ultimately led to the removal of Tony Mowbray as manager and the installation of Karanka in the summer. Steady improvements were made last season, with the backline tightened up by 20 goals, and this season the defence looks unrecognisable from that which kept just 11 clean sheets two campaigns ago.

So how has the Real Madrid assistant managed to turn it around in such dramatic fashion?

HUNGRY NEW BLOOD

For a start, the personnel is largely different. Some of those who were forming the leaky backline two years ago were approaching the twilight of their careers, having already plied their trade in the Premier League. Justin Hoyte and Andre Bikey were both 28, and had already tumbled out of the Premier League a couple of years earlier. The likes of Stephen McManus and Stuart Parnaby were the wrong side of 30, and it’s no surprise that all four have since left the club.

Karanka’s introduction of fresh young talent into the mix – those who had received a taste of topflight football but not enough for them to grow weary – seems to have worked a treat. Tomas Kalas, Daniel Ayala and George Friend have all briefly flirted with the top-flight in the past, and while the latter was already a permanent fixture in the side under Mowbray, the arrival of the former duo have added steel and resilience to the defence. The club’s 22-year-old academy graduate Ben Gibson completes the impressive backline. Rhys Williams and Jonathan Woodgate are remnants from the Mowbray era, but Karanka knows all too well the hazard of relying on both to stay fit throughout the season.

GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES

Shay Given had already played for both Sunderland and Newcastle during his long and distinguished career, and he made it a perfect set in the North-East when he joined Boro on a one-month loan deal in November 2013. The Irishman’s reputation had been tarnished following a poor personal showing in Euro 2012 and an ignominious omission from the Aston Villa side.

While he is revered as a hero on Tyneside, some might say he was the catalyst for Boro’s dramatic improvement in the defensive department. Deputising for the injured Jason Steele, he injected some confidence into a previously nervous defence, as he produced a series of impressive performances. His loan deal was soon extended to the end of February, and he ended his time on Teesside with ten clean sheets in 16 league games.

ELIMINATING ERRORS

With each passing year, Karanka eyes meticulous and steady improvement. Having worked at close quarters with Jose Mourinho, whose philosophy is centred around fine-tuning and perfecting, the Spaniard has clearly spent hours on the training ground in a bid to cut out the previous season’s errors.

Last year’s concession of 50 goals in 46 league games, a vast improvement on the previous campaign’s 70, was still not good enough for the Spanish perfectionist. Karanka won’t need reminding of his gruelling introduction to English football in 2013, with sloppiness proving to be a hallmark of his first six months in charge. Just one win from his first ten games, and five victories before Christmas left the former Real Madrid coach under pressure. Boro conceded 11 goals in the last 20 minutes of games, which ultimately cost the promotion hopefuls 17 points - and that would have seen them finish fourth. By his own admission, they were ‘conceding lots of goals by stupid mistakes’.

Following a home defeat to Brighton in mid-December, form vastly improved. The new boss oversaw 14 clean sheets as his troops rallied for a late promotion push, and they have carried that confidence into this season.

‘THE PERFECT PLAYER’

When Given was recalled at the end of his loan spell in February 2014, supporters could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. However, giant Greek goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulous, who had penned a short-term contract at the beginning of the season but waited until January to make his debut, proved to be a more than adequate replacement.

The former Hartlepool United custodian has seen off competition from the likes of Jason Steele, Tomas Mejias and Jamal Blackman in the last 18 months. He was recently heralded as ‘the perfect player’ by Karanka after yet another clean sheet against Huddersfield Town, and the Spaniard highlighted his ability to ‘transmit his calm to the team’.

It’s testament to the keeper’s determination and drive that he arrived at the Riverside as fourth-choice, and in such a short space of time has established himself as one of the side’s most important players.

THE SPECIAL ONE

Having spent three years by his side at Real Madrid, Karanka would have been a fool if he didn’t try and pick up a few tips from Jose Mourinho. While he is putting his own stamp on Boro, there are a few subtle nuances that look to be borrowed straight from the Mourinho handbook. His fondness for having two players compete for every position, and the importance of clean sheets are but just a few.

Mourinho has long been renowned as not just an excellent motivator, and world-class manager but as a shrewd tactician with an emphasis on winning the game through clean sheets rather than a gung-ho attack. During his first spell in English football, Mourinho’s Chelsea conceded just 67 goals in 120 league games, and so far this campaign only Southampton can boast a better defensive record.

While Boro supporters will already be singing Mourinho’s praises for allowing them to have Patrick Bamford and Kalas on loan, perhaps he is having an even more powerful influence on their surge back into the Premier League? When the former knocked in the opener at the Etihad Stadium, the Portuguese boss must have cast a wry smile that he was still getting under Manuel Pellegrini’s skin despite sitting 211 miles away at Stamford Bridge.