TONY MOWBRAY is hoping the Bart man can be the surprise package in the Championship this season, as Middlesbrough push for promotion back to the Premier League.

Nigerian striker Bart Ogbeche was handed his Boro debut in Saturday's 2-0 win over Derby County at the Riverside, when he emerged from the bench to replace Merouane Zemmama with 23 minutes remaining.

It was a difficult opening test for the African, whose cameo appearance coincided with Middlesbrough's decision to tighten things up as Derby pushed on in a bid to save the game.

But Mowbray is keen to build up Ogbeche's fitness and confidence, knowing he has been severely short of match fitness since leaving Greek side Kavala in the summer.

The 27-year-old is expected to figure in a reserves game with Gateshead at Rockliffe Park this afternoon, where he has been impressing in his previous two outings.

Mowbray said: "First and foremost it's unfortunate that Bart coming on the pitch coincided with us deciding we were going to drop deep and invite pressure, so we weren't really an attacking force with the changes, but we're hoping he's going to bring goals.

"He's a clever player, has good feet, good awareness, he wants to get in the box and he's scored goals in the reserves for us. We hope he can make an impact. We'll wait and see."

Ogbeche signed a contract until the end of the season and is intent on proving he can cope with the strains of playing in the English league.

Mowbray only has Marvin Emnes, Scott McDonald and loan man Alex Nimely as alternative options in attack, so he could do with his latest recruit quickly settling in to life on Teesside.

Ogbeche has struggled with injuries over the last few years, during his spells with Real Valladolid, Cadiz and Deportivo Alaves. He headed for Spain after an unsuccessful stint in the United Arab Emirates.

Before that, though, he had built a reputation for himself as a promising young striker in France, where his first club Paris St Germain had allowed him to join Bastia and Metz on loan.

That was the most productive period of his career, which helped to secure his place in the Nigeria squad for the 2002 World Cup.

And at that stage, before injuries struck, he was viewed as his country's likely candidate to play alongside Obafemi Martins for the long term.

Now, though, an international recall seems a million miles away and he first must prove to Mowbray he was right to be given a chance until the end of the season.

Ogbeche is likely to be involved again when Middlesbrough travel to Southampton on Saturday, a game which could see the men from the Riverside climb to level on points with the Championship leaders.

Mowbray is clearly satisfied he can head for St Mary's on the back of a return to winning ways against Derby, having lost for the first time this season at Nottingham Forest a week ago.

"It was important to win and we go to Southampton in a real positive mood. We'll have a real go at them and test their credentials," said Mowbray.

"It will be interesting to go and feel how good they are, to see if they are genuinely better than the rest. They've opened a little gap at the top, but we shouldn't fear going to Southampton, we're going there to cause them problems."