Burgzorg and Latte Lath delight as Michael Carrick explains Middlesbrough attacking changes

Michael Carrick revealed his delight for Delano Burgzorg and Emmanuel Latte Lath as he revealed their reintroduction to the Middlesbrough starting line-up was as much tactical as it was enforced.

The pair were part of two attacking changes the Boro boss made after the 4-1 victory over QPR for the Saturday's clash with Luton Town. On top of that, he also restored Hayden Hackney to the side over Jonny Howson after suspension, while Neto Borges missed out because of illness, meaning Anfernee Dijksteel came back into the side.

With the Howson change also largely enforced after he returned from injury to play more minutes than expected in the two previous games due to Hackney's red card and suspension, the attacking changes raised eyebrows pre-match, particularly in the context of Boro's clinical night in West London. But his changes paid off as Burgzorg scored twice and Latte Lath scored and assisted in a 5-1 win for Boro.

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While the fact that recently injured Riley McGree and Tommy Conway would have been playing a third game in seven days did, as expected, come into the thinking, Carrick's pre-match analysis on Luton meant he felt the changes would work tactically too.

The Boro boss explained: “I thought both of them were fantastic, and what we had hoped for. There were a number of factors that came into making the decision, a bit of freshness, and also the way that we thought Luton’s man-for-man formation would suit them.

"They were willing to adapt and try a couple of different things, and it worked out really well. It was a good game and a good week for the whole squad. Pretty much everyone has played and had a big impact on it over the two or three games, in different ways.

"Certainly, everyone’s right in the thick of it, and it’s great to be able to make changes – a couple were enforced and a couple were by choice – and still be able to have that level of performance."

While there were tactical considerations, McGree and Conway are still having to be managed after picking up injuries earlier in the season. For Conway, he missed three games with a hamstring injury, while McGree has had a foot problem since last season. With Carrick keen to have both available as much as possible this season, he is keen to manage their workload for now - and feels confident and justified in doing so.

“That’s my job and what I’m here for, to make decisions," he said. "One or two were forced to a point, others were by choice. Riley and Tommy have played a lot of football, and we had ten men for a lot of last week’s game. Tommy has had a couple of little niggles. They’re both going away for international duty, so there’s a lot that comes into it.

"They could have played today and will continue to be important players moving forward, there’s no doubt about that. They’re both playing ever so well, so it certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we felt it was the right one. Delano and Manu were ready to come into the team and make an impact, and we thought it would suit them with how we needed to attack.

"Credit to them. Manu is scoring goals, which is great, and there are so many positives. There’s a lot that goes into the decision-making, but I get that as a manager, you either don’t know what you’re doing or you’ve got all the answers. That’s just how it is!

"But it’s not something I worry about. When we come back, there is a lot of football to be played and we feel we’ve got a lot of good players in the squad to carry us through."

Boro were further boosted in the game by the return of Dael Fry. He came on for the final 15 minutes, replacing George Edmundson, who almost missed the game through illness. For Fry, it was his first competitive appearance since February, as he took an important step in his road to recovery.

“We got Dael back onto the pitch, which was brilliant," Carrick added. "It’s been a long road back for Dael, but he’s worked so hard. He had a couple of little setbacks, but he’s come through it."