MICHAEL Carrick has been encouraged by the bright and promising displays of Isaiah Jones, who is showing signs of rediscovering good form after a difficult year for the winger.

Jones burst onto the scene with Boro a couple of years ago but struggled to build on that brilliant breakthrough last term and spent a large chunk of the season out of the team.

What wasn't known at the time was that Jones was going through an incredibly tough period off the pitch, with the winger opening up earlier this summer and revealing that he lost seven family members over the course of 12 months. That unsurprisingly had a major impact on his mental health, with Jones admitting he was in a "dark place".

The winger praised Carrick for his role in helping him through his difficulties, and the head coach is now glad to see the 24-year-old enjoying his football and impressing on the pitch again.

Despite the defeat at West Brom, Jones enjoyed an impressive cameo from the bench, before a bright showing on the left flank in the Carabao Cup win over Bolton.

Carrick said: "He's good. We know what Izzy is capable of and as well as the rest of the boys it's our job to get the best out of them.

"I thought he showed a real zip and spark when he came on at the weekend and made a big difference for us. He hasn't played much off the left, especially since I've been here, but we felt against that man for man system (at Bolton) that he could offer a lot on that left side, and he did. I'm really pleased for him.

"I thought he was terrific and looked dangerous throughout. He didn’t quite score the goal in the end but caused them problems and more than played his part."

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Jones has now given Carrick something to think about ahead of Saturday's visit of QPR, but so too have Riley McGree and Morgan Rogers, who both came off the bench to score at Bolton.

Whether they start or come off the bench, Carrick says all of his forward players have crucial roles to play.

He said: "That's the big thing, it's the options of how you can freshen it up and change it, players playing through the middle, off the right.

"Flexibility is important. I know the boys don't want to be sat on the bench and known as finishers but they've all played a part and we've mixed it up a little bit.

"They've all played two or three games each over the course of the start of the season, it stands us in good stead moving forward."