EMMANUEL LATTE LATH admits his first season as a Middlesbrough player contained plenty of ups and downs, but the striker is hoping his strong finish to the campaign has set him up perfectly for next term.

Latte Lath was Boro’s flagship signing last summer, joining the club from Italian Serie A side Atalanta, but the 25-year-old struggled with injury for much of the first half of the season.

He only made 11 Championship starts before the start of March, but was an ever-present from that point onwards, starting the club’s final 13 matches as he started to hit his goalscoring stride.

The Ivorian scored eight goals in his final six outings of the campaign, a run he feels has left him ideally positioned to hit the ground running at the start of next season.

“I’m really happy because it’s been a hard season for me,” said Latte Lath, who ended the campaign with 18 goals in all competitions. “It was a hard beginning to the season with my injuries, but it ends in a good way and I have to thank my team-mates for how much they’ve helped me.”

Latte Lath’s goalscoring flurry in the final month of the campaign enabled Boro to finish in eighth position, four points adrift of the play-off places.

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There was a collective sense of pride at the strength of their finish, but also a sense of what might have been given they claimed just two points from a possible 21 at the start of the season.

“It's a big shame that we didn't get in the play-offs,” said Latte Lath. “I didn't want the season to end, we didn't want to stop our good form. But we can take pride in the good things we did and carry them into next season. Now, we take a bit of a break and we’ll go again next year.”

Latte Lath has quickly built up a strong rapport with the Middlesbrough fans that was evident as he was serenaded from the stands in the wake of the final game of the season at the Riverside.

The striker has his own song to the tune of ‘Spirit In The Sky’ and clearly values the way in which the Boro support have taken him to their heart.

“I can't explain how good it feels to have the fans singing my name,” he said. “It’s just a special feeling inside. I'm really happy because they are super fans. I hope for them that next year we can do better than this year.”