TOMMY Conway loves benefiting from the "carnage" caused by his close friend Ben Doak and says playing with the Liverpool loanee is a "striker's dream".

Conway's two Boro goals in Saturday's 3-1 success over Hull City were both created by his Scotland teammate Doak - which prompted a cheeky comment from the teenage winger in the dressing room after the game.

Conway has made a brilliant start to life on Teesside, with eight goals in just 14 appearances since his summer arrival from Bristol City. And his job is certainly made easier when Doak is at his brilliant best and laying on chances.

“I love him," said Conway.

"Not only does he cause carnage on the pitch and create for me and the other boys, but off the pitch too, he’s a good mate of mine.

"When we’re away with Scotland we’re always chilling out together.

"For him to get two assists for me was massive. I was glad I managed to put them away for him as well. He just said in the dressing room he’s going to send me the invoice, but I pointed out, ‘I still had to do a little bit for you’.

"I really enjoy playing with him. You always know he’ll create something which, for me as a striker, is a dream. It gives me confidence and makes me always be on my toes, thinking about my next movement.

"Rather than wondering, ‘is he going to go back?’ you know his strengths and what he’s going to be doing. The key is making sure I’m in the box and timing my runs correctly so that I’m on the end of them."

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Conway got the nod over Emmanuel Latte Lath on Saturday and justified Carrick's call with his brace. The head coach has rotated his two strikers this season, which Conway has no problems with.

“I think you can already see how it’s benefiting both of us," he said.

"Me and Manu have a great relationship off the pitch. It doesn’t matter who plays, we’re all behind each other.

"We’ll always go up to each other before the game and wish the other all the best. Essentially, we both know we’ll be involved at some point during the game, so you’ve got to be ready, leave it all out there, and ultimately get the goals for the team.

"There’s no bad blood or anything like that when he’s in ahead of me. I’m happy for him when he scores because that benefits us as a team and helps us on the way of the route we want to go on.

"I’ve been really happy for him in recent weeks - he got his hat-trick and he’s been on flames, to be fair. That makes me, when I do come in, more hungry to show my best as well.

"We’re always pushing each other in training and giving each other little tips. It’s a really good place to be."

Boro have won four of their last five games ahead of a crunch spell against rivals Burnley, Leeds and Millwall.

Conway said: “We had a little bit of a blip in midweek so it was important to get back on track.

"Considering we were coming off the back of scoring 15 in three games, I think that little blip wasn’t something anyone saw coming. We needed to bounce back. Three goals, two for myself and the win, it doesn’t get much better than that really to get back on track.

"One thing we’ve maybe got to start getting used to is winning when we’re expected to do so. People would have expected us to win on Wednesday and we didn’t. We have to learn to live with that expectation. Today, everyone to man put a shift in, stuck to the game plan and delivered."