Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott admits they must start defending leads after their defeat at Portsmouth.

"You've got to take the sting out of the game by keeping hold of the ball and we didn't," he told BBC Tees. "We're pretty down in that dressing room as you can imagine."

Expectations at the Riverside have risen since manager Gareth Southgate took charge and this current campaign has been Middlesbrough's best start to a Premier League season in nine years.

Attitudes within the squad are very much the same and Riggott is keen to assure the supporters that the players share their concerns.

"There's always concern when you're getting ahead and not winning games," he said. "They [Liverpool and Portsmouth] are two tough places to go but that's not an excuse.

"Maybe we could have had a couple of points if not four points from the games so it's massively disappointing."