Tommy Conway talks the fight with Emmanuel Latte Lath for the position at the head of Boro’s attack.
Tommy Conway believes that friendly competition between himself and Emmanuel Latte Lath improves both the strikers and Middlesbrough generally.
Conway and Latte Lath are directly competing for the top slot in Michael Carrick’s Boro side. Latte Lath has had the nod in recent games and even scored a hat-trick on Saturday against Oxford United.
But Conway has impressed since joining Boro from Bristol City in the summer, and he was reinstated to his preferred place on Saturday, scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Hull City. While some may lament the lack of consistency in selection, Conway demonstrated his enormous character as he outlined why it benefits both players and Boro as a whole.
“I think you can already see how it’s benefiting both of us,” he told me. “Off the pitch, Manu and I have a wonderful friendship. We all support each other, regardless of who plays. We’ll always approach each other before the game and wish each other the best.
“Essentially, we both know we’ll be involved in some way during the game. So you have to be prepared, put it all out there, and eventually achieve the team’s aims. There’s no bad blood or anything while he’s ahead of me.
“I’m delighted for him when he scores because it improves our team and helps us get to where we want to go. I’ve been really thrilled for him in recent weeks; he got his hat-trick, and he’s been on fire, to be honest.
“That makes me want to give it my all when I come in. We are constantly pushing each other in training and offering each other subtle hints. It’s a great location to be.
Conway took advantage of his opportunity on Saturday, as he returned to lead Boro’s attack. He also provided two fantastic finishes at vital moments in the game, as Boro quickly put a midweek defeat to Blackburn behind them with the win over Hull. The goals propelled him to the top of the club’s goal-scoring rankings, and he is now the Championship’s most prolific striker.
On his Hull performance, he went on to say, “On a personal level, you want to contribute to the team as much as possible.” But, as long as we’re advancing up the table and into the positions we desire, it doesn’t matter who scores.
“Of course, I enjoy contributing to the team and feeling part of it. But it doesn’t matter who scores; all I want is to be part of a successful team. We suffered a minor setback in midweek, so we needed to get back on track.
“Considering we had just scored 15 goals in three games, I don’t think anyone expected that tiny dip. So we needed to bounce back today, and I believe we did. Three goals, two for myself, and a win; it doesn’t get much better than that for getting back on track.
“We may have to grow used to winning when we are supposed to. People would have expected us to win on Wednesday, but we did not. We need to learn to live with that expectation. Today, everyone put in their time, followed the strategy, and delivered.
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