Clayton backs Boro to beat the drop after signing on to 2021

Adam Clayton is confident Middlesbrough can steer clear of relegation trouble after committing the next four years of his career to the club by signing a new contract.

Midfielder Clayton has only missed four league games this term under Aitor Karanka, having played in all but three of their fixtures in last season's Championship promotion campaign, and has penned fresh terms until 2021 at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro travel to Stoke City on Saturday winless in nine top-flight games and above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, but Clayton believes success in the long slog of second-tier seasons past will give them impetus in the run-in.

"We give it 100 per cent and that's why I like it here," Clayton told the club's official website.

"Everyone's tuned into getting this club where it needs to go. Since I've been here, it's pulled in the right direction. 

"We're in a bad spell at the minute but we've been there before and we can use the last couple of years to really push hard and get us out of the bottom of the table."