Alex Gilbert says he loves being at Middlesbrough and wants to use his Hull City goal to help fight for more game time as he admits his time at Boro so far has been difficult.

The young forward has not found it easy at Boro since joining on a free from Brentford in the summer of 2023. He struggled for game time for much of last season before a strong end to the campaign left him coming into this season full of hope. However, just as some bright early appearances left him knocking on the door of the first team, he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for over three months.

But returning to the fold in recent weeks, the 23-year-old has been working hard to impress Michael Carrick and grasped his opportunity at Hull City on New Year's Day. Coming off the bench with just seven minutes to play including stoppage time, he scored a last-gasp winning goal for Boro to lift them to fifth in the Championship table.

READ MORE: Liverpool offer possible Ben Doak transfer hint that's good news for Middlesbrough after award win

READ MORE: Ruben Selles's honest Middlesbrough admission after late Hull City heartbreak

And in an emotional interview with BBC Tees after special celebratory moments with Boro fans in the away end after the game, Gilbert said: “For me personally, it’s been difficult. The lads in those forward areas that I’m challenging for have been doing so well and it’s difficult when you’re on the sideline for long periods of time and you’re trying to fight your way in.

"When you only get little minutes here and there, it can be difficult to make an impact. Thankfully tonight went really well, but often, it’s hard to get yourself in the game. Hopefully moments like this can help me keep chipping away to keep me in the mind of the gaffer.

"Hopefully we can give the fans more moments like that and they can see how much I want to be here and how much I want to be in the team, helping us get promoted. It has been difficult and there’s no hiding from the fact that I’ve wanted more opportunities than I’ve had. But I’ve loved it here.

"I get on well with all the lads, it’s a great environment to work in and I love coming in for training every day. They’re part of the reasons you’re always spurred on to keep working hard every day. Hopefully more goals like tonight will put me in good stead and help the team push towards the end of the season to see what happens.

"It’s still early days and there’s a lot of games to play. Nights like tonight are hopefully ones we look back on and think of it as one of those moments that helped us get to where we want to get to. I’ll always remember moments like this. I remember goals going back to when I was eight years old. You never forget ones like that!”

Gilbert's late goal ensured Boro started 2025 with a win that put them back into the play-off places where they want to be this season. It followed a frustrating evening in Humberside where, despite rarely being tested by the hosts, they struggled to break down a stubborn defence and create many chances of their own.

But offering more insight into the goal he scored, courtesy of an excellent run and cutback from fellow sub Delano Burgzorg, Gilbert continued: “What a way to start the new year. Sometimes it’s like that - you have to come on and all you can do is try your best. There've been countless times where I’ve come on and nothing’s happened, but thankfully this was one of those times where I’ve come on and got that goal.

"Those moments are just instinct because you don’t have time to think. You make the run to where you think you need to be and before you know it, the ball’s in the net and you’re running away celebrating. Watching on, you could see it was difficult. The teams like Hull that are down the bottom and scrapping for their lives will try and keep it tight. They don’t want an open, expansive game.

"We had to just keep plugging away, we hit the post with H and we felt it was coming and luckily it did. Sometimes it can go that way and you have to keep going until the end. The important thing is we’ve come away with the three points.”