FINN AZAZ revealed Middlesbrough tweaked their usual game plan to deal with Luton Town’s physical threat in Saturday’s emphatic 5-1 win at the Riverside.

Luton are renowned for being one of the most physically-imposing teams in the Championship, and whereas opponents often look to sit off Boro’s players when they head to Teesside, the Hatters have invariably looked to go man-to-man with their opponents under Rob Edwards.

Michael Carrick knew what would be coming on Saturday lunchtime, and his decision to start both Emmanuel Latte Lath and Delano Burgzorg reflected a desire to try to break beyond the Luton defence.

Boro had to adapt their normal possession-based approach in order to break on Luton more quickly, and Azaz felt the subtle changes to the Teessiders’ playing style were a key factor in their biggest win of the season.

“We planned for them and what they do,” said the Irishman, who scored two of Boro’s goals and had a major hand in the other three. “They do something different which we haven’t really faced yet in this league, and we were prepared for that. The game plan came off against a really physical and tough side, and we were happy with that.

“We’re buzzing to get the win going into an international break. It was a really good performance, and we’ll enjoy the win and the goals. I think the goals have been coming, so it’s nice to get five.”

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Boro went into last week off the back of a disappointing home defeat to Coventry that saw them slip out of the Championship’s top ten.

A midweek win over QPR represented a turning of the corner, and Saturday’s 5-1 win saw the Teessiders take another major step forward.

Some of their attacking play was absolutely superb, although Azaz insists there was no major shift from much of Boro’s play earlier in the season. Back then, while chances were being created, the ball was not going in. Clearly, that has not been the case in the last two games.

“I don’t think anything’s really changed,” said Azaz. “We try and always be consistent with our performances and I believe we have been doing that.

“This is a tough league, so results aren’t always easy to come by. We’ve just got to stay consistent, stay positive and hopefully we continue to get the rewards for that. 

“We back ourselves to beat anyone on our day. I think we’ve shown over the course of the season we can do that. Now, we just have to take it game by game and see where it takes us.”