MICHAEL CARRICK claims Chuba Akpom’s brimming confidence has been the key factor in transforming him into an unstoppable goalscoring force.

Akpom made it 12 goals in his last 13 outings as his second-half brace helped Middlesbrough claim a 3-1 victory over QPR at the weekend.

The forward’s 19 league goals means he is five clear at the top of the Championship goalscoring standings, with his purple patch since returning from injury at the start of October all the more notable given that his Boro career looked as good as over when he was frozen out of the first-team picture under Chris Wilder at the start of pre-season.

Akpom might well have moved on had Wilder been able to recruit a replacement striker prior to the start of the season, but having been moved into a new ‘number ten’ role that clearly suits him by Michael Carrick, the 27-year-old has developed into the most arguably the most in-form player in the whole of the Football League.

“It’s pretty obvious, in some ways, what goals like that does to a player,” said the Boro head coach. “With all the confidence, you see them grow in themselves. They have that confidence on the pitch.

“He seems to be bigger, quicker, playing free, you can’t underestimate the power of the mind. It can go the other way when you’re not playing so well, when players seem almost slower and lethargic because the mental state is different. Chuba is in a terrific place at the minute, backed by the whole group.”

Akpom needs just one more Championship goal to become the first Boro player to score 20 league goals in a season since Bernie Slaven in the 1989-90 campaign.

The Northern Echo: Middlesbrough forward Chuba AkpomMiddlesbrough forward Chuba Akpom (Image: Tom Banks)

Beyond that, and with 13 league games still to play, who knows what tally the forward will finish the campaign with. Carrick sees no reason why he should not be able to maintain his current scoring spree, although he is reluctant to start setting goalscoring targets.

“He doesn’t need to put a target on it," he said. "He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, improving and working hard."