The inspiration behind Middlesbrough's much-improved goalscoring form - Boro panel

Middlesbrough head into Wednesday evening's game in fine form. Three wins in three games have lifted them back into the top six, and their ability to score goals has been the big factor behind it.

Having struggled often early in the season to convert chances into goals, Michael Carrick's side have suddenly gone goal-crazy. They've scored 15 goals in their last three games, and in scoring four-plus goals in all three of those games, they equalled a feat not achieved in 77 years.

So what's inspired the turnaround? We asked our Boro fan panel exactly that. Have they spotted a new emphasis in the way Boro play, are certain individuals stepping up or doing something different, or is it as simple as players simply finding their confidence and finally finishing the chances they were always creating?

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Our panel this week consists of Youtuber and talkSport journalist Phil Spencer, Boro Breakdown co-host Dana Malt, Boropolis co-founder Chris Cassidy and Twe12th Man member John Donovan.

Dana Malt

Some people may think Boro have swept the floor with tactical changes given the quite notable improvement in front of goal, but I don’t think an awful lot has changed in terms of how we set up.

The big difference, though, has been the introduction of one player: Ben Doak. In him, Boro have somebody that is not only an outlet due to the system - him being the one to provide width on the right hand side - but somebody that can exploit space in behind with his skillset. He’s very direct; harnessing his strength and speed to disrupt an opposition's backline and progress Boro’s play into dangerous areas within the box.

I also think Doak has brought out better in Finn Azaz, and vice versa, and that elsewhere, Azaz and Emmanuel Latte Lath bring the best out of each other. It sounds really simple, but maybe it is just a case of Michael Carrick finding the right blend of talents up front.

Perhaps there’s also a bit of variance at play too. As much as us Boro fans are inclined to believe that in some capacity the football club has walked under several ladders, our lack of luck, or wastefulness, or whatever you want to call it just wasn’t going to last forever. There had to be a point - as many predicted - where we were going to give a team (or three) a tonking.

John Donovan

It’s difficult to put our sudden glut in goals down to one particular aspect of our play or to one particular player. We’ve played well in the majority of games, as our stats will reflect, without getting the results we deserved.

Some games we’ve been below par, notably Sunderland, Bristol City and Coventry. They call it fine margins, but we were guilty of our own downfall in many games - silly errors, gilt-edged chances missed, key moments in games.

For a while now the general opinion has been that we’ll give someone a good hiding. That has happened in the last three games, and no doubt it will help the confidence of several players. And confidence is something that comes on the pitch with good results, not on the training ground or from a tactics meeting.

Key moments like Tommy Conway's missed penalty at Norwich, Hayden Hackney's rush of blood vs Coventry, Seny Dieng's return to top form against his old club and Latte Lath's penalty last weekend, can change the course of a game. I think there were opinions exchanged after the Coventry game and we have since tightened up at the back and mixed up how Dieng distributes the ball.

Michael Carrick deserves great credit for handling team selection to keep players hungry and determined to take their chance when it comes along. We’ve had a great week, but this is the Championship, anything can happen. I’m sure the boss will remain level headed throughout. Stay with the boys.

Chris Cassidy

When we were asked at the back end of October what was Middlesbrough’s biggest problem in attack, I wrote about Boro’s conversion rate compared to their underlying data. However, I also touched on personnel. Namely, Finn Azaz and Emmanuel Latte Lath.

At the time of writing, the pair only had three goal contributions between them, zero of which were from open play. They’d also missed a collective eleven big chances. They now have a combined total of twenty-one goal contributions.

It’s not quite as simple as saying they’ve just started putting their chances away, though. Indeed, I’d say there are a handful of reasons for Boro’s upturn in front of goal. Firstly, Michael Carrick’s man management, and mainly his management of Latte Lath.

Despite his poor form, there were still a few raised eyebrows when the Ivorian forward was dropped to the bench against Sheffield United, and even after his match-winner, Latte Lath had to wait another three games for a return to the starting eleven. It’s proved a masterstroke and undoubtedly given Boro’s number nine a bit between the teeth to prove the doubters wrong. Some might even call it a wake-up call.

Secondly, Ben Doak. We all know he himself is brilliant, but I think we’re now seeing the impact his growing reputation is also having on the rest of the team. Often, teams will now double and triple up on the Scottish sensation, and coincidentally that appears to be leaving Finn Azaz with the freedom to pick up really promising pockets of space, but more importantly, the additional time to make the right decisions in the final third.

Lastly, I don’t think the mental aspect of it all can be understated. Up until Luton, Finn Azaz hadn’t even scored at the Riverside. Not even thirty minutes after his first, he had his second. It’s an age-old way of thinking, but it’s no shock that Latte Lath has also gone on a run not long after breaking his goal drought. That part of it might not be able to be quantified in terms of a stat, but it certainly can’t be disregarded.

Phil Spencer

Two words: Finn Azaz. Let's get this straight, I have always been a big fan of Azaz - even earlier this season when certain sections of the fanbase were getting on his back, it was clear what he had to offer.

Even when is final ball wasn't coming off, you knew that it was never too far away. In recent weeks, he's been absolutely unplayable and performing with the sort of freedom of a player who knows exactly how good he is.

It's also helped that Emmanuel Latte Lath has hit form at the right time. As well as finding the same lethal touch that he showed at the back end of last season, we're seeing that telepathic relationship between him and Azaz really come to fruition.

The two of them have an incredible connection on the pitch and that has arguably been the most important thing of late - Latte Lath makes the run and Azaz knows exactly when and where to put the ball to send him through.

I also think it helps that we've settled into a bit of a formula out wide with Ben Doak providing crucial width to stretch play - this, in turn, is creating more space for Azaz to operate in and that is playing a big part in our recent success.

Typical Boro suggests that we'll now go five games without scoring - so thanks for that Craig! - but if we can keep our forward players fit and sharp then we are almost guaranteed to win more games than we lose.

As well as hearing their views on particular Boro topics on Teesside Live each week, you can also hear from them further on their respective platforms. Phil Spencer runs his own Youtube channel which you can subscribe to here. Dana Malt is part of the Boro Breakdown Podcast, Chris Cassidy is part of the Boropolis Podcast, and Jamie Dalgarno is a mainstay on the Twe12th Man Podcast, all of which you can listen to on all major podcast outlets.