JONNY Howson will make his first Championship start of the season for Middlesbrough at Queens Park Rangers tomorrow and will be intent on keeping his place in the side after a reminder of his importance and influence.

Howson was called from the bench at the midway stage of the first half against Coventry City on Saturday and replaced Finn Azaz following Hayden Hackney's early dismissal.

Prior to his Coventry outing, the club captain had played just 10 minutes of Championship football in three cameo appearances from the bench this season.

But with Hackney now suspended for tomorrow night's trip to Loftus Road, Howson will almost certainly come into the XI - and will be out to make sure his spell in the side isn't short-lived.

Although Boro suffered a heavy defeat to the Sky Blues on Saturday, Carrick's side actually improved after going down to 10 men, with Howson helping the hosts get something of a grip of the game after a sloppy start.

“I thought Jonny settled into the game pretty well," said Carrick.

"It’s not easy coming into the game in that kind of scenario but he played a big part in us almost getting hold of the game a bit better.

"Going down to 10 men forced us into playing and it was good to have Jonny’s influence and experience to see through."

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Carrick wasn't alone in praising Howson on Saturday, with visiting boss Mark Robins also namechecking the experienced midfielder.

He said: "They [Boro] have some real quality. When you're bringing Jonny Howson on, Jonny has been a top pro forever."

Carrick suggested he'll "freshen" things up at QPR tomorrow as Boro look to build some much-needed Championship momentum after a run of just one win from five matches.

He turned to his bench in the late stages at the Riverside on Saturday, with Emmanuel Latte Lath, Anfernee Dijksteel and Dan Barlaser introduced but the triple change backfired as Coventry scored a quickfire double to seal their deserved victory.

Carrick said: "The boys had a put a lot of work in and it got to a stage where it felt like it almost needed that little extra push from us. "We wanted to try and get two strikers on the pitch because we’d had Tommy and Riley playing before that, with Riley more of an extra midfielder really.

"We tried to get an extra forward on the pitch for that last 20 minutes or so, but the second goal goes straight in almost and you kind of lose that momentum. After all the work they’d put in, we let it get away."