Boro's Conway happy to learn new role as winger

Tommy Conway has fully embraced his new role as a winger and Middlesbrough are feeling the benefits.

Conway arrived at Boro two years ago from Bristol City as the man to be the number nine, tasked with scoring the goals.

He has done that with 13 in each of the previous two seasons, but since the arrival of Kim Hellberg, the Scotland international has undergone a sideways shift.

Now Conway is playing more like a left winger which is certainly what Hellberg wants from him.

But rather than demonstrating unhappiness at having to do an unfamiliar role, the 24-year-old has taken everything on board in his bid to improve and help his team.

"I feel like I'm open to learning," Conway told BBC Radio Tees. "When Kim came in and adjusted, I was on board with it. I fully bought into it.

"I could have chucked my toys out of the pram saying I wanted to be the number nine and play through the middle, but that's not me.

"I just want to play and help the team in any way, shape or form."

Conway grabbed his first goal of the season in Middlesbrough's 2-2 draw with Cardiff City, scoring the first as Boro came from two goals down at half-time to share the points with their Welsh visitors.

The team's main goalscoring burden has been taken up by Will Lankshear, who netted his 11th of the season after a summer move from Tottenham, while Conway has contributed three assists.

The most notable of those was a perfect left-footed cross from the left wing as he escaped the attentions of former England right-back Kieran Trippier sufficiently to set up Lankshear for the winner in the home victory over Wolves.

It left Hellberg thrilled and was a sign of how much work Conway is putting in to perfect his new craft.

"I'm now learning every day to be a left winger and I feel like I'm getting better every week," Conway said.

"I'm getting more confident coming up against the full-backs because it's not something I would have done throughout my career growing up.

"I do feel like I'm getting better at it and hopefully the goals and the assists can keep on coming."

Conway suffered a heartbreaking end to last season when he fractured his ankle in the second leg of Middlesbrough's play-off semi-final against Southampton in May.

He left the field in tears as in a heartbeat, his chances of helping Boro win promotion and going to the World Cup with Scotland had been dashed.

But after a summer of hard work and recovery, Conway has returned full of determination to finally make it to the Premier League.

The match with Cardiff was his 10th appearance of the campaign and the first time he had completed a full match for five months, as he believes that it has taken a acouple of months to get back to where he was.

"I felt back to my best against Wolves," he said. "The gaffer then looked after a few of us in midweek so then I was able to go again and score.

"Everyone knows how much I love playing for this club and in front of these fans. I just want to do well and I just want to get to the Premier League.

"One foot in front of the other, every day trying to get better and hopefully we'll get there at the end of the season."