MICHAEL Carrick can see summer signing Micah Hamilton growing in confidence and improving fast - but says patience is going to be key with the former Manchester City youngster.

Boro were delighted and excited when they completed the permanent capture of Hamilton, who featured in the Champions League for Pep Guardiola's City last season.

But the 20-year-old had never so much as been out on loan before swapping City for the Riverside so Boro's coaching and recruitment team were always aware that the young winger wouldn't be an immediate sensation on Teesside.

Instead, they'll continue to ease Hamilton in, as Boro have done successfully with other signings such as Rav van den Berg and Morgan Rogers in the past.

Both Hamilton and Rogers arrived at Boro from City having turned heads in the youth ranks but Carrick was keen to point out the key difference between the pair.

“We certainly don’t want to compare the two players because it’s different," said Boro's boss.

"Morgan had been on three loans before he came here whereas Micah has just been at City for a long period of time and is now experiencing a completely new environment for the first time, so there are differences.

"But in terms of younger players, being patient with them, picking the right moment to put them in the team, give them a rest, when’s the right moment to look after them and help them etc, it’s all part of their development and it’s part of what we enjoy doing here to a degree.

"We feel Morgan is an example of where we’ve done that well and our record with that is not bad so far. Micah is right in that bracket and I’m sure we’ll get the best out of him and he’ll have a good season."

RECOMMENDED READING:

Hamilton is still waiting for his first league start ahead of Saturday's trip to Sunderland for the Wear-Tees derby but has featured from the bench in four of Boro's five Championship games. And Carrick never expected the winger to immediately nail down a place in his starting XI.

“I think I said when he first came, being patient with Micah was important," he said.

"He’d been away to the States for pre-season and played some minutes but it’s not always easy to get much training time in on those tours. Then he comes here and it’s a big change after he’s been at Man City since he was a young boy.

"Certainly over the last couple of weeks, you can see the spark in him starting to show, and you can see him growing in confidence.

"His fitness is growing and he’s getting sharper too, so we’re really pleased with the way he’s going. I’m sure he will progress and improve as the season goes on, no doubt."