IT goes without saying that Dan Barlaser would like to have played more games for Middlesbrough since his arrival from Rotherham United in January.

The midfielder only made three Championship starts in the second half of last season and after being in the XI for the first two games of the current campaign in the absence of captain Jonny Howson, Barlaser has been back on the bench for the last six league outings.

The problem for Barlaser since he joined the club has been the consistency of Howson and Hayden Hackney in the middle of the park, while the arrival of Lewis O'Brien late in the summer window further congested an area in which head coach Michael Carrick says Boro are "blessed".

But Barlaser is very much in Carrick's thoughts and pushing for a league start. The 26-year-old played and impressed in the Carabao Cup win at Bradford City on Tuesday night and Carrick says the former Newcastle United youngster is "at the top of his game".

“He’s a big part of the group," said Carrick.

"He’s a really good character and personality, so he’s an important part of the group. I’m sure he wants to play more games, and we’d love him to play more games as well. We’re blessed in that area, but he’s got a massive part to play.

"It’s not just cup games likes this, he’s got a big part for us to play in everything we do. I was delighted for him, I thought he looked really good.

"He’s improved an awful lot as pre-season has gone on and with the games from the start of the season, and he looks at the top of his game at the moment, so that’s fantastic.”

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When Barlaser arrived at Boro in January, he was joint top of the Championship assists chart, having laid on seven goals for Rotherham in the first half of the season. He'd scored a couple as well. He's comfortable on the ball, has good awareness and always looks for the forward pass.

Carrick says: “It (always having time) is a big skill to have. Even when he doesn’t have time, he makes time for himself because he’s really clever on the ball. He’s really clever with his passes and his combinations, and I thought him and Hayden as a partnership worked well.

"They were fantastic (at Bradford) and controlled a lot of the game. They picked the right moment of when to hold on to it and when to release it. With Dan, it’s what we see day in, day out in terms of his level of performance. He’s such a good footballer, so I wasn’t surprised by that performance. I thought he was terrific."