Hat-trick hero Akpom identifies Michael Carrick's Boro strength

Chuba Akpom stole the headline with his first senior hat-trick in English football on Boxing day.

Akpom netted three goals to guide Middlesbrough to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Wigan Athletic.

With the hat-trick the striker now has most goals (12 in 14 games) in the Championship this season.“That was my first time playing at a full Riverside and my family were here and my little man was here so what a day to get a hat-trick! I’m so happy.

Days like that are just so special and why we love football,” He told the Club’s official website.“I just tried to be in the right places at the right time and it’s a good thing that I’m scoring, but it’s even better that we’re getting the wins.

The North-east side have garnered 16 points from the eight games in which Michael Carrick has been in charge, igniting their playoff hope.“I’m really happy for the team because we can’t do it without each other.

We couldn’t do anything without each other so it wouldn’t be fair for all the focus to just be on me.“We’re all together and we’ll all keep our feet on the ground and stay focused for the rest of the season,” he concluded.