MIDDLESBROUGH midfielder Alan Browne has hailed the renaissance of Morgan Whittaker after turning the jeers into cheers in a breakthrough week.

The former Plymouth Argyle winger, who joined Boro for a significant £6m fee in January, had previously struggled to make an impact since arriving from Devon, failing to score in his opening 26 appearances.

His plight was such that he even received some boos among a big Boro contingent when he came off in the game at Preston in September.

It prompted boss Rob Edwards to fire a missive to some sections of the club's support, urging them to lay off the 24-year-old, who retained strong backing among the club's players and staff.

Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

placeholder image — Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

A breakthrough moment saw Whittaker net Boro's key second goal in last Friday's win over Ipswich Town and he followed up with the only goal of the game at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. He was serenaded by the away following at the final whistle to seal his turnaround in fortunes.

Speaking to BBC Radio Tees, Browne, who impressed for a second game running for Boro, said: "This will do him the world of good.

"I think you could see that n how he played. He played out of his skin.

"He was the same on Friday night against Ipswich, he was top class. Not just his goals but his overall game.

Sheffield Wednesday's Svante Ingelsson and Middlesbrough's Alan Browne battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

"To be honest, I wasn’t really aware of his situation, so I felt a bit bad that I didn’t celebrate too much when he did score (against Ipswich).

"I honestly didn’t know. He’s such a fantastic player and a fantastic person as well. He deserves it.

"His finishing in training every day is incredible. When I was told after that was only his first for the club, I honestly couldn't believe it.

"For the player he is, and the quality he has… It can be a confidence game sometimes and when you’re low on confidence you’re a completely different player. Since I’ve been here, he’s been nothing but class, training and games."

Browne admitted that the atmosphere on Hillsborough on a night when multitudes of Wednesday supporters boycotted the game in protest at owner Dejphon Chansiri was challenging, but felt Boro displayed the right mentality on an evening when they moved within a point of Championship leaders Coventry.

The Republic of Ireland international, signed in the summer on a season-long loan from Sunderland, added: "Yes, we spoke about what the night would be like all week. The gaffer highlighted it.

"Obviously we spoke a lot about tactics as well. But that aside, it was going to be a strange game.

"He mentioned it might almost be like Covid times, with the exception of our incredible support. So we mentioned that and understood that we had to have the right mentality.

"There was three points up for grabs at the end of the day and we think we got it right, set the tone early off and got the goal early on as well. We maybe caused ourselves a few issues, but I don’t think they really ever opened us up.”