MICHAEL Carrick has outlined his plans for Tommy Conway and believes he can get both the new signing and star striker Emmanuel Latte Lath in his Middlesbrough starting XI.

Conway came off the bench to make his Boro debut in Saturday's frustrating defeat Derby County.

The 22-year-old was used mostly as a leading striker at Bristol City but replaced Finn Azaz in the late stages at Pride Park and played just off Latte Lath.

Boro were desperately chasing an equaliser so Carrick's desire to get an extra striker on the pitch was understandable, but Boro's head coach later revealed that he believes Conway will be at home across the Boro forward line and can play as a No.10, just behind last season's top scorer Latte Lath.

“He can definitely play that role," said Carrick.

"This was maybe a bit of an extreme case because of the way the game was and how many bodies they defended the box with. That made it difficult and meant we needed extra bodies in the box. We tried it and didn’t quite come off.

"It might be something we look to do in the future again too. I certainly wouldn’t write anything off."

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Conway didn't feature for Bristol City during pre-season and was training with the Under-21s, so Carrick and the coaching team will now make the most of a full week on the training pitches to discover where the striker is at with his fitness and conditioning.

"He’s been here for a day or so, so we’ll have a look this week and get a better gauge on that," said Boro's boss.

"We’ve got a free week now where we can get the boys settled in even more and then obviously look forward to the game on Saturday.

"It’s a long season and sometimes week to week you can get carried away with the disappointments or elations that come, but we’ll manage that this week and look forward to the next one."

Once he's settled, Carrick believes Conway - Boro's top striker target this summer - will make a big impact on Teesside.

He said: "It was great to get him involved (at Derby) and obviously I'm delighted to get him in.

"I think he’ll be a really good addition for us across the top line, where we’ve got good options anyway.

“I like the way he runs - he’s clever with his runs - he’s dynamic, he’s got a really good attitude, is technically very good and is a good finisher. From what we’ve seen, we’re really happy to get him. He’ll settle quick because he’s a good character and I’m sure that he will have a big impact on the group.”