Boro feel full benefit of Carayol’s late double

“It was a very good result and performance,” said Boro manager Aitor Karanka. “It was a tough first half, we didn’t play in the first half, but in the second period the subs worked well and we got the result.

“Everybody knows Mustapha is a quality player and he needed that for his confidence. He took both goals very well and I’m very happy for him.

“I said when I first came here, when we lost two or three games, my philosophy is always thinking about the next game.

“We were three points away from the relegation places and now we’re not far from the play-offs – but my mentality is the same.”

Boro goalkeeper Shay Given was tested by Ricardo Fuller and Tom Ince either side of the break before Carayol’s double sealed the points for the visitors.

The winger cut in from the right on 84 minutes before bending a fine effort into the bottom right-hand corner and then, in stoppage time, he fired into the top left-hand corner.

Blackpool assistant manager Steve Thompson conceded their recent slump in form is “worrying”.

After failing to win any of their last nine games, Thompson admits the Seasiders’ slide down the table, after a fantastic start to the campaign, is cause for concern.

“The players are working hard but we’re lacking quality in the final third,” said Thompson.

He claims that the club are powerless to stop star midfielder Ince, linked with a move to Swansea, leaving if the right offer comes in.

“Tom is a fantastic asset for us and the last thing we want is to lose him. Obviously if someone comes in and offers a lot of money then there’s not a great deal we can do about it, but we don’t want him to go. We need good players to kick-start our season again.”

Blackpool: Gilks, Bishop, Cathcart, MacKenzie, Robinson, Ince, Basham, Martinez (Caton 87), Ferguson, Barkhuizen (Eccleston 63), Fuller (Davies 77). Unused substitutes: Warner, Harris, Cameron, Waddington.

Middlesbrough: Given, Varga, Ayala, Rhys Williams, Friend, Ledesma (Butterfield 89), Leadbitter, Emnes (Carayol 61), Whitehead, Adomah, Jutkiewicz (Main 81). Unused substitutes: Richardson, Konstantopoulos, Gibson, Smallwood.

Referee: M Russell (Hertfordshire).

Man of the match: Mustapha Carayol.