Aitor Karanka admits the pressure of Middlesbrough's relegation rivals winning on Saturday got to his players during the defeat at Spurs.
Harry Kane's second half penalty gave Tottenham a narrow 1-0 win at White Hart Lane after Bernardo Espinosa had fouled Heung-Min Son.
Middlesbrough stay 15th and one point above the relegation zone, having failed to win any of their last seven Premier League matches.
"Today we went to the pitch knowing the other results and I think the pressure (told)," said Karanka. "The first half was on the pitch. (Before) the second half, I told them that we had to leave that pressure on the pitch.
"We had to play in our way, we need to be more aggressive, more intense and in the second half I think we were better. And when we were trying to do something, we conceded that goal and at the end we had chances to score.
"Once again, we showed we can compete against every single team and once again, I have to say that the players have been amazing."
Boro's situation appears also to have become more urgent after Hull and Sunderland both registered impressive wins over Liverpool and Crystal Palace respectively earlier on Saturday, but Karanka says he is focusing only on his own side.
"We have to think about ourselves," Boro boss Aitor Karanka said.
"We need to know that we are good enough to stay in the division, we have to forget the opponents and we have to be confident because the attitude and commitment the players put on the pitch every single day is amazing."
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