Middlesbrough’s caretaker manager Steve Agnew admits he is having to quickly get his players used to new ideas, as they battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Wednesday night’s six-pointer at fellow strugglers Hull City will be Agnew’s third match in charge after Aitor Karanka was sacked just under three weeks ago.

Boro haven’t won any of their last 12 league games, with their 3-0 victory over Swansea on December 17 their last success, a run that has dropped them into the relegation zone.

With games running out, a 0-0 draw against the same opponents did nothing to ease any fears of the drop, as it left them five points adrift of safety ahead of their visit to the KCOM Stadium.

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Agnew said: “In a perfect world, any head coach would like to go into a full pre-season to prepare, but we know in football that doesn’t happen very often.

“We have to put our ideas into the players how we can, and they have responded very well.

“We haven’t quite had the break we’ve needed but if we keep working it will come.

“I can tell you not just from me, but from the coaching staff and all the players, we are determined to keep Middlesbrough in the Premier League and we’ll be doing absolutely everything to ensure that happens.

“We’ve had limited time on the grass, but the preparation from the final whistle at Swansea has been terrific and I can feel the players are in a good place.”

David Moyes insists that Sunderland’s goalscoring burden cannot fall solely on the shoulders of Jermain Defoe.

The 34-year-old striker, who recently found the net against Lithuania on his return to the England fold, has scored the lion’s share of the Black Cats’ goals so far this term.

The currently-injured Victor Anichebe is second in the club’s scoring charts, having struck just three times this season.

Stadium of Light chief Moyes is looking to the likes of Italian frontman Fabio Borini and Manchester United loanee Adnan Januzaj to weigh in with more end product, as Sunderland search desperately for an escape route from the Premier League drop zone.

“Adnan’s got to contribute more, Fabio’s got to contribute more,” said Moyes.

“It can’t just be about Jermain. The players behind them have to give better service throughout the team.

“As a group, we need to try and make sure that we’re not just solely focused on Jermain, and think about how we can get results as a team.

“I can see why (people expect Defoe to score) because he is the one who has been doing it, but there’s no doubt that Jermain would hope Fabio, Adnan and the players around him would get the opportunities to score as well, and take them.”

Eddie Howe believes that AFC Bournemouth travel to Anfield in fine fettle on Wednesday but that the Cherries’ dramatic win over Liverpool earlier this season will have little bearing on events on Merseyside.

Nathan Ake’s injury-time winner saw Bournemouth beat Jurgen Klopp’s side 4-3 at the Vitality Stadium in December, with Howe’s troops coming back from 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go.

Having endured an eight-match winless run following the turn of the year, the Cherries go to Liverpool off the back of draws away at Manchester United and Southampton, as well as home wins over West Ham United and Swansea City.

But the events of the two teams’ previous meeting, which provided one of Bournemouth’s most famous top-flight results, will be far from Howe’s mind.

“On the day, we had a little bit of luck,” said the Cherries chief.

“We were out of it but we didn’t give up or surrender, and then managed to end the game on a real high.

“That said, it has no relevance to this game. It’s a totally different game away from home, where hopefully we can get some points.

“We know it’s going to be very difficult, they have very good players and a manager I’m sure will be success in the long term.

“We’ve played well there recently but not got any points – the next challenge is to go there and get something.

“We’re in a good place at the moment. We’re well aware of how quickly things can change.”

Swansea City’s Tom Carroll admits it will be strange facing former club Tottenham Hotspur for the first time since he left White Hart Lane in mid-January.

But Carroll is fully focussed on gaining an invaluable three points for Swans at the Liberty Stadium, and won’t let the previous 16 years of involvement with Spurs stand in his way.

The midfielder will hope to guide his new club to their first-ever victory over Spurs in the Premier League on Wednesday night as they look to get more breathing space between themselves at 18th-placed Hull City.

And Carroll is confident he can put aside his personal affinity for the White Hart Lane outfit, despite having originally joined the club as a youngster.

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“It will be strange playing against Spurs as I had been there since I was eight,” said Carroll, who played 56 games for the club during his time in North London.

“I obviously know the players and staff very well. I’m still in a WhatsApp group among the players.

“But on Wednesday all that matters is getting three points. A win would be a big boost, though we’re well aware how tough it will be.

“There is a lot of pressure on us but any pressure is good pressure. If there is no pressure, then what are you playing for?

“We are at home and our fans will be right behind us. When teams come here they know they are in for a tough time.”

With Watford having already announced Tom Cleverley will make his loan move a permanent deal at Vicarage Road this summer, on loan striker M’Baye Niang is keen to do the same.

The 22-year-old joined Walter Mazzarri’s side from AC Milan in January, but has struggled for goals since his effort against Burnley in a 2-1 victory in early February.

The Hornets were winless in four before Saturday’s victory over struggling Sunderland, moving Mazzarri’s men back into the safety of mid-table.

But with Niang already stating that his future may lie away from the San Siro, he is aware he needs to do more to convince Watford’s owners to splash the cash and make him a permanent fixture at Vicarage Road.

And he hopes that helping the Hornets to a high league finish this season will be enough to secure him the move he craves.

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“The aim is to prove that I can be a big help to the team. I would like to stay here longer than just this season,” said the former Caen forward.

“I said when I first arrived that I want to stay long-term and I still have a big desire to make a success of things here.”

Hull City head coach Marco Silva admits injured Ryan Mason is at the forefront of his mind as the Portuguese bids to engineer the club’s Premier League survival.

The Tigers did their fight against relegation a world of good on Saturday as they came from behind to beat West Ham 2-1 thanks to goals from Andrew Robertson and Andrea Ranocchia.

But they were once again without midfielder Mason, who saw his season ended when he suffered a fractured skull during a 2-0 loss to Chelsea on January 22.

The Tigers’ record signing required emergency surgery in a central London hospital and spent a week under close observation before being discharged.

Mason is now recovering at his family home in the south east, but Silva insists the 25-year-old is never far from Hull’s thoughts.

“We miss not only the player but the man as well,” said Silva, who had started Mason in each of his first four games as City boss.

“Sometimes you forget when you talk about the players we don’t have available but he’s a really important player for us. Not only on the pitch, I repeat, because he’s a fantastic boy and a fantastic professional. It is good news for us all that he is progressing well.

“Sometimes I speak with him, of course. Maybe I don’t speak with him one week but he knows that he stays always in our mind. We play for us and our fans, but for Ryan as well.”

West Brom boss Tony Pulis believes it will take an ‘absolute fortune’ to bridge the gap to the top six clubs and he is not holding out hope of having the funds made available to him.

The Baggies currently sit eighth in the Premier League and Pulis is pessimistic that he can improve their league position even if he does enhance his squad this summer.

West Brom can move further ahead of Stoke City in ninth with victory over Watford on Tuesday night.

But despite West Brom’s impressive performances this season, Pulis believes there is not much hope of any side upsetting the odds as Leicester City did last season.

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“If you’re going to aim for the top six, you need an absolute fortune,” he said.

“Look at Manchester United, they missed six or seven players on Saturday and the team on the pitch was worth £260m. That’s never going to happen at West Brom, let’s be fair.

“Was it a one-off? Yeah I think it was (Leicester winning the title). Absolutely amazing but I don’t think we’ll ever see it again.

“Have a look at how much the top six clubs have improved this year. They’ve left all of us miles behind. Everton are the only ones hanging on to their shirt tails.

“It just shows, this league is about money. And if you’ve got that money to go out and get the best players, you’ll be able to get into that top six, but we haven’t got that.”

Giannelli Imbula has hinted that he could move away from Stoke City after this Premier League season following a lack of game time.

The midfielder arrived at the Potters in February 2016 for a club record £18.3million, and helped Stoke finish ninth last term.

However, after a stuttering start to the season for Mark Hughes’ side this campaign, Imbula found himself dropped and he has made just nine starts so far.

And the 24-year-old admits that a discussion is needed once the dust has settled.

“Sure, yes, I have responsibility for this situation,” he said. “At one point, I certainly did not do what the coach wanted.

“But I’m not the only one [to blame]. They also have their share of responsibility. Things do not go as planned when I arrived.

“I work hard in training. I do not waver mentally. I am ready to give everything. After that, I do not get the opportunity to play for some reason I do not know.

“We’ll see at the end of the year. I will not dwell on this situation because I do not like it at all.

“We’ll see how it’s going to happen, we’ll talk.”

West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is confident the Hammers can regain their self-belief, as they look to end a run of four successive defeats at Arsenal on Wednesday.

Just one win in their last eight games has dropped West Ham down to 14th in the Premier League, six points clear of the relegation zone, with the pressure building up on manager Slaven Bilic.

The club’s owners felt it necessary to release a statement following last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Hull City, making it clear that Bilic retains their support.

Senegal captain Kouyate, who scored the opener in the Hammers’ 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium last season, believes it will take a lot of hard work to end what has been a worrying slide.

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Kouyate said: “It’s a very, very difficult moment for us, but sometimes you have this period one time in a year or one time in two years. It is important that we stay positive, stay together and just focus.

“We need to win some games, just work hard and play hard. We need to take our chances and defend well, but most importantly we need to work together and be positive.

“Sometimes you lose the game in the last minute or sometimes you lose the game in the first half by conceding two or three goals but, at the end of the day, we need to work as hard as we can and win some games.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has insisted his side’s surprise home defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend hasn’t increased the pressure on the Premier League leaders.

The Blues fell to just their fourth defeat of the season, as struggling Palace came from behind to win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur taking advantage by winning at Burnley.

As a result, the gap at the top of the table was reduced to seven points, with Chelsea looking to avoid back-to-back losses when Manchester City visit west London on Wednesday.

With Spurs playing at struggling Swansea on the same night, Conte’s men will be keen to ensure they’re not allowed to make further headway into their lead.

Conte said: “There is big pressure but it is normal when you are in a great club and you are very good.

“When you are lucky enough to fight for the title there is the pressure but not only for us, for a lot of teams.

“Don’t forget, the other teams were candidates to win the title but instead we stay top of the table and we try to keep this position. If we were able keep this position it means that we deserve this.

“This league wasn’t finished before Saturday’s game and it is not finished now. There are nine games to play and we have to think step by step and at the end if we deserve to win the title I will be very happy.”