FINN AZAZ admits he and his Middlesbrough team-mates have had to come through an extremely tough run in the last couple of weeks, but with back-to-back wins under their belts, the midfielder is confident the Teessiders are back on track to claim a play-off place.

Boro suffered five successive defeats as they tumbled down the Championship table and saw the future of the club’s head coach, Michael Carrick, called into question.

However, a much-needed 3-1 win at Stoke City stopped the rot, with Carrick’s side following up their victory at the bet365 Stadium with a weekend home win over Derby County that took them back to within two points of the top six.

Carrick has admitted that collective confidence was shaken by the lengthy losing run, and Azaz concedes there were some difficult moments as Boro’s form nosedived.

“There’s going to be dips in a Championship season,” said the Irish international. “We know how hard it is to maintain the levels. We know we’ve had a tough run, but we’ve done everything we can to come through it. We’ve tried to work as hard as we can to rectify that, and in the last come of games we’ve managed to do that. To come out of a tough run is great.

“We knew we would come out of the bad run because we’ve proven we are one of the best teams (in the Championship), and we all have that inner belief. As a team, we’ve stuck together and tried as hard as we can to ignore the outside noise. We knew we’d come out of it.”

Azaz has been integral to Boro’s improved fortunes, scoring the all-important second goal that reestablished his side’s lead at Stoke before firing home the only goal of the game against Derby at the weekend.

The win over the Rams saw Boro climb back up to eighth position ahead of an inviting three-game run that will take them into the international break.

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The Teessiders head to 16th-placed Swansea City at the weekend, with the Swans having lost six of their last eight matches. They host 14th-placed QPR, who have lost three of their last four, next Tuesday, before heading to 22nd-placed Luton Town on the following weekend. Get positive results in those three matches, and Boro could well find themselves back in the play-off places.

“I hope this is the start of a run,” said Azaz. “I’ve got all the belief this team is one of the best teams in the division. If we maintain our levels, I’ve got all the belief we can go on a great run.

“The belief in the dressing room has been high all season. We know and we’ve proven we’re good enough to be there as a team, and we have all the belief.

“As long as we focus on ourselves, we will be fine. It might be cliched, but I genuinely believe if we maintain the levels (shown against Stoke and Derby) to the last game, we will get in the play-offs. We will be looking to win every game.”

Just as Boro’s collective performance level has improved in the last two matches, so Azaz’s individual form has also improved.

The 24-year-old has made a hugely-positive impact since signing from Aston Villa just over a year ago, but like a number of his team-mates, he was struggling to his usual levels in the first couple of months of the year.

His performance against Stoke was a major step forward, with his weekend display against Derby also catching the eye, and he appears to be benefiting from the presence of January signing Morgan Whittaker alongside him in the attacking-midfield positions. The pair have interchanged effectively in the last two games, with Azaz making a series of effective forward breaks to support central striker, Tommy Conway.

“It’s tough,” said Azaz. “It’s about figuring it out. People talk about your form, but I’ve just tried to maintain my form and work as hard as I can to get results for the team. I’m buzzing we’ve been able to do that.”