Tommy Conway switched from centre forward to left winger last season

Tommy Conway is learning all the time his new role as a left winger, and has absolutely no complaints about the decision to change his position.

Signed from Bristol City as a number nine in the summer of 2024, head coach Kim Hellberg switched his role last season and started playing Conway from the left.

He recently gave a detailed explanation of why he made the switch, and how, in a team who plays in a different way to Boro, he could still be a really effective central striker.

At Boro though, Conway is considered a left-sided forward, and the benefits of that have been seen in recent weeks, as the 24-year-old has rebuilt his way back to full fitness after suffering a serious ankle injury in last season’s play-offs.

On his new role, he said: “I'm always open to learning. And when Kim came in we spoke about what he thought of me. I was on board with it and I fully bought into it.

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

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“I just want to play and help the team in any way, shape, or form. And I'm now learning every day to be a left winger, and I feel like I'm getting better and better every week.

“I'm getting more confident coming up against the full-backs because obviously it's not something I would have done throughout my whole career growing up. I never would have done that.

“So I do feel like I'm getting better at it and hopefully the goals and the assists can continue coming.”

Asked when he can first remember playing the role, the dramatic late win at West Brom last season, on January 16, springs to mind.

“From there, I feel like he saw something in that performance,” Conway said. “Ever since then we’ve been working on it to try and get better and better.

“And I feel like this summer it was like starting from scratch. The message was clear: you’re going to be a left winger from pre-season.

“Then it was: how can we help him learn and develop and get better at that position? I feel like I'm doing that every day.

“It’s a help having that clear mindset. I think I know myself that I can play down the middle, because I've played for years in the Championship as a number nine.

“Now, I know that I've got this in my locker as well. I'm an option for the team in case I need to play there.

“But I feel like, in my head now, I know that's my role off the left and I've got clear ideas on what I need to do every day, and when it comes to games, I know exactly what I need to do as well.”

Hellberg has spoken highly of Conway from the day he arrived at Boro almost one year ago. He backed Conway publicly on multiple occasions, and made no secret of his admiration for the Scotland international.

“Kim’s been massive for me,” Conway said. “When a manager gives me confidence and allows me to go and almost do what you want, within a structure obviously, it makes a big difference.

“It gives me so much confidence. He openly says how he feels that I'm one of the best in the league and feeds me with confidence.

“When I go out there I really do feel like that when I come up against any full-back. I think you saw that recently against Kieran Trippier.

“He just feeds me with confidence and every day I'm trying to learn new things, like going on the outside. I feel like everyone's picked up on that one.

“As well as coming inside, being more unpredictable you want full-backs to think he can go both ways, as a winger that's a strength. I'm learning all the time and he feeds me the confidence and hopefully I can just keep repaying that.”