MICHAEL Carrick says Emmanuel Latte Lath is the "life and soul" of Middlesbrough's dressing room - and says there's even more to come from the in-form striker between now and the end of the season.

Latte Lath's first season on Teesside has been disrupted by injury but the 25-year-old has still scored seven goals from only 13 Championship starts and hit the net twice during Boro's run to the last four of the Carabao Cup.

The Ivorian was on the scoresheet against Norwich City and QPR in the last week, with successive victories breathing new life into Boro's season ahead of tonight's trip to face lowly Birmingham City.

And Carrick says the fast-improving striker is a key man for his side on and off the pitch.

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"Manu has done well," said the Boro head coach.

"Just before he got injured he was hitting some really good form and looking sharp. You could see he'd settled in and felt what the intensity and speed of the game was like.

"He was feeling good in himself. He's come back well from that. It's not easy being out for a period of time but goals help. He's had a big impact on what we've done.

"Most of the time when players come from a different country and different type of football, some hit it off straight away and some take a bit of time.

"There's natural improvement as he's settled in. He's a big part of the group, he's the life and soul really with his personality, which is great. It's nice to have him back around the lads. And he plays like that really.

"He's sharp, he has an impact, I'm sure there's more to come from him. He's nowhere near fully fit. I'm sure between now and the end of the season there's even more to come from him."

After joining Boro from Atalanta in the summer, Latte Lath took time to adjust to life in the Championship and Carrick stressed that patience was needed as his new teammates got to grips with the striker's style of play and strengths.

Now, the head coach can see an understanding that he says will only continue to get stronger.

He said: "I think that's huge. It's a huge thing. It's so easy to think he's a good player, put him in there and he'll be alright.

"But you have to play alongside players, get the best out of each other. The good players or the better players always get the best out of those around them and have a knowledge of what suits everyone else as well as themselves.

"There's definitely that in terms of the wavelength and the more the boys are together, it definitely helps.

"Manu has had a big impact over the last week and that’s we need - we need boys who can score the goals and put the ball in the back of the net for us. Manu and Marcus have done that for us in the past week, and maybe it is someone else in the next week, but nevertheless, that’s what wins you the game."

After a run of four defeats in five games, Carrick says all of his players deserve immense credit for the turnaround in the last week.

He said: “I think you see when it’s a bit of a struggle the true colours. The character of the boys could never be faulted, as I’ve said previously. Even when it was a bit stickier and the results weren’t coming, I was just hoping the boys would start getting their rewards because their intentions were always fantastic. Hopefully we can now use the momentum we’ve gained in the last week and build on that."