MICHAEL Carrick and his Middlesbrough predecessors Chris Wilder and Neil Warnock might well all have different views on how they like to set their teams up and how the game should be played but they've all had something in common on Teesside: their appreciation of Matt Crooks.

Warnock signed him and loved him, he was crucial in Wilder's early success and Carrick instantly identified Crooks as a hugely important figure on and off the pitch when he arrived as boss 12 months ago.

And after making his 100th appearance for the club in the midweek cup win at Exeter City, Carrick says Crooks is as important to Boro as he's ever been - and improving all the time.

He's been a superb signing. He topped Boro's goal charts in his first season at the club and was repeatedly the man for the big moments last year after Carrick's arrival. He scored the late winners against Norwich City and Luton, an excellent double at Birmingham and a crucial equaliser at Bristol City.

Had it not been for Crooks, Boro might well not have had a Carabao Cup quarter final to look forward to. It was the forward who scored the leveller at Bolton in the second round at a time when Carrick's side were struggling for form.

Carrick and those before him have talked up Crooks' role in the dressing room. He's a big character and a leader. That's one of the reasons he's so crucial to the cause. But what comes first is what he does on the pitch, says the head coach.

"I think first and foremost Crooksy is a terrific player," says Carrick.

"When you get talked about as a great character and person and great around the group, it can take away from the quality that you bring on the pitch.

"Crooksy brings both sides to it and that's why he's so important. He leads by example with how he trains every single day and the impact he has when he's on the pitch in terms of being such a threat and the work that he does for the team with and without the ball is really important for us, as is his threat and combination play in and around the box.

"He brings an awful lot. Being a stable character, for me, a lot of it is about people as well and having good people around the place. Good people and good players. He goes about things the right way."

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Crooks arrived as a midfielder and that's where he played for Warnock and Wilder but Carrick moved him forward to play as a striker last year. Crooks himself wasn't initially convinced but it proved a clever move. Crooks was the main man up-top for the Boro boss before Cameron Archer's arrival in the January window - and continued to play a crucial role in the second half of last season.

This season, Carrick has moved Crooks back into a slightly deeper No.10 role, where the player himself feels more at home.

He's started 10 of Boro's 14 Championship games and only Dael Fry, Seny Dieng and Hayden Hackney have played more minutes. Crooks was rested for the midweek win at Exeter but is almost certain to be back in the starting XI at Plymouth tomorrow, even if Morgan Rogers did dazzle as the No.10 at St James Park on Tuesday night.

Carrick said: "Crooksy is right, he probably naturally feels more comfortable and at home in that  deeper position.

"I still thought he did have and could have moving forward an influence playing that bit higher up because of how he is in and around the box. He's really clever and has a natural instinct for his timing and arriving in the right space at the right time.

"That's something that's difficult to coach. He's got that naturally.  Over his career he feels a bit more comfortable playing deeper and I get that. I understand that. He's certainly improved since I've been here and its all down to him. He's been so, so good around the place and in training and he's getting his rewards for it now."