Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate has praised the character and work ethic of Rudy Gestede and Adam Clayton following their recent form.

Neither player has been a regular starter under the Boro boss this season but both have featured prominently in recent games. Woodgate feels both players deserve huge credit for their reaction to being dropped:

“I left Rudy out of the squad a couple of weeks ago and his response has been brilliant. That’s what I want from senior players. Likewise Adam Clayton. He got left out of the squad, got on with it like good pros do and forced his way back into the team.”

Clayton missed out on the matchday squad for the 1-0 defeat to Luton Town last month but he has played the full 90 minutes in the Teessiders’ last three matches.

Gestede, meanwhile, has had a number of hamstring injuries this season, but he has been fit since mid-December and didn’t make the squad when Middlesbrough faced Leeds a few weeks ago.

However, the 31-year-old was reinstated to the starting line up against Nottingham Forest and he rewarded Woodgate with a goal in the 2-2 draw. He also laid on the assist for the only goal in the crucial 1-0 win over Charlton last weekend.