Aitor Karanka urged Middlesbrough to "keep their feet on the ground" despite rising to second in the Sky Bet Championship.
Karanka's men brushed aside fellow promotion hopefuls Norwich City 4-0 at the Riverside on Tuesday and now sit level on points with leaders Bournemouth.In a game that represented a test of their promotion credentials, Boro enjoyed complete control from the moment Patrick Bamford opened the scoring in the fifth minute.
Grant Leadbitter struck his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign either side of half-time before Yanic Wildschut added further gloss.
Karanka was understandably delighted with the performance, although he stressed the importance of not getting carried away.
He said: "We have very good players and a very good squad. We are in a very good way but these kind of games cannot confuse us into thinking everything is done.
"I am very happy and very pleased but we want to keep our feet on the ground. We would like to be in this position in May."
Boro's win means they head into a mouthwatering top-versus-second clash with Bournemouth on Saturday brimming with confidence.
Karanka added: "I am very pleased with the result and the performance, especially in the second half.
"This was an important game against a team who were in the Premier League last season.
"That means we have now beaten the three sides who were relegated, which is good and important for us.
"We now have to prepare for Bournemouth. They have good players; we have good players. I am very confident ahead of the game."