£5m man Tommy Conway on settling in at Middlesbrough and relationship with Michael Carrick
A HAPPY footballer usually leads to a successful one.
That has certainly been the case so far for Middlesbrough striker Tommy Conway, who swapped one side of the country for the other when he moved from Championship rivals Bristol City in August following a lengthy pursuit by his new employers.
The £5m arrival has shown what he brings to the table with a positive first half of the campaign in Middlesbrough colours to vindicate his decision to head to the north east, despite plenty of interest from rival Championship clubs.
Despite moving a good distance further away from friends and family in Somerset, the Taunton-born forward insists that was not an issue in his decision-making, quite the opposite in fact.
Conway, pictured, said: "I’ve loved it here so far and my family have loved it every time they’ve come up as well. I’ve settled in really well with the group and it feels like I’ve been here a long, long time.
"I love coming into training every day and spending time with the boys and I’m settled home-wise too.
"It just feels like a really great place for me to be at this stage of my career.
"I’m focusing on one thing and that’s my football and I think that shows on the pitch.
"I’m not going to get carried away, I know I need to keep my feet firmly on the ground, but hopefully we can keep going and achieve a lot this season.
“Settling in the area definitely has a big impact [on form on the pitch]. I left home when I was 15 to move up to the Bristol City academy and I’ve essentially lived away from home ever since then.
"But that was about an hour away from home, which made it easy to pop home.
"But now, it’s a long, long way. So that’s been different, but I feel like I’ve got used to that and took to the area really well.
"I’m enjoying my football here and it’s quickly become home, so I’m happy."
For Conway, taking his career to the next level, as opposed to geography, was his only consideration when making the switch from the south west to the north east, with an indicator of Boro's faith in the Scottish international coming in the form of the four-year deal that he signed back in the summer.
And he has certainly been repaying that faith on the pitch, with eight goals from 17 appearances helping Boro climb to sixth in the Championship.
The 22-year-old, who was also linked with moves to Norwich, Burnley and Boro’s Yorkshire rivals Hull City ahead of his big-money move to Teesside, added: "I’ve come here to play football and nothing else.
"This was the club I saw myself (fitting in) at best.
"Obviously I spoke to the gaffer (Michael Carrick) before I came and knew what the playing style was and knew if I bought into it and worked hard that I would learn very quickly.
"That’s all I’ve been doing really. I’m not afraid to ask a question when I’m not too sure about things and making sure I’m learning all the time. I feel like I’ve really been reaping the rewards on the pitch."