Middlesbrough's Emmanuel Latte Lath 'secret' and what's changed as goalscoring form found

Michael Carrick is delighted to see Emmanuel Latte Lath rediscovering his goalscoring form for Middlesbrough, and believes the secret is simply confidence.

The Ivorian striker came into the season with a lot of hope and expectation on his shoulders after a great end to his first season at Boro resulted in an end tally of an impressive 18 goals. The favourite to win the Championship Golden Boot this term as a result, things didn't start as hoped for the 25-year-old.

The penalty he converted on the opening day of the season remained his only goal of campaign before dropping out of the starting XI against Sheffield United. That proved a big turning point for the out-of-form hitman, who came off the bench to bag his second of the season that night and win a crucial game for Carrick's side.

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Though that didn't earn him an immediate recall to the starting line-up, Latte Lath added another from the bench at QPR to get back into the side against Luton, where he finished that match with a goal and an assist. Encapsulating how quickly it can change in football, his hat-trick at Oxford United on Saturday took him to seven for the campaign and up to third in the league's goalscoring charts.

On what's changed for him, Carrick said after: “Fantastic. I'm delighted for Manu. He's found his stride and that sharpness and zip. Confidence is so hard to put a price on. When you’ve got it and you’re in that moment, in the zone, you see the solution all the time. You don’t see the problem or the hazards, you just see the solution.”

Latte Lath is certainly solving a big early-season problem Boro had when it come to converting chances. His form of late is reminscent of the end of last term when it felt like everything he touched turned to gold. He's not alone in that either though.

Boro's squad is stacked with attacking players, many of whom have been waiting a little while to finally hit their stride and show what they're truly capable of. With 15 goals in three games for Boro, things really appear to have clicked.

“Manu gets the headlines and rightly so, good performance and good goals," Carrick continued. "But across the forward line, the boys can be proud of their good work. Delano [Burgzorg] played really well, Ben [Doak] is playing well, Finn [Azaz] is, Riley [McGree] and Tommy [Conway] come on and make a difference.

"It's really enjoyable to watch them perform; the way they're expressing themselves. Manu gets the headlines and rightly so. But across the forward line the boys can be proud of their good work.”