TONY PULIS is hoping Adama Traore will spearhead a successful promotion push in the next four weeks, and claims uncluttering “what was swinging around in the winger’s head” has been the key to transforming his performances to such dramatic effect.

Traore set up both of Middlesbrough’s goals at the weekend as a 2-1 win over promotion rivals Derby County took them to the brink of qualifying for the play-offs. Boro entertain Millwall at the Riverside on Saturday evening knowing a win will guarantee they finish in the top six.

Traore’s form has been a key factor in their run of three wins from their last four matches, and the winger was at his dazzling best at Pride Park as he embarked on a series of bursts and dribbles that left Derby’s defenders terrified to get too close.

The 22-year-old has always possessed an abundance of natural talent – you don’t spend more than a decade in Barcelona’s academy without being able to play a bit – but the first year of his Middlesbrough career followed the same pattern that had become established during his time at Aston Villa, with Traore playing in snatches and failing to come up with much in the way of an end product.

Garry Monk was so sceptical about Traore’s ability to influence a game that he started him in just one of his final 12 matches in charge, and the Spaniard hardly helped himself as he picked up a senseless red card at Aston Villa and conceded a costly penalty against Cardiff City.

Pulis has eradicated that volatile streak, and encouraged Traore to concentrate on taking on the opposition defence whenever possible, and rather than bombarding the winger with a host of information, he has attempted to keep things as simple as possible. On the evidence of the last couple of months, the ploy has clearly worked.

“I just think it’s been a case of unwinding everything that might have been swinging around in his head,” said Pulis, who helped nurture the likes of Jermaine Pennant and Ricardo Fuller during his time at Stoke City. “He’s a wide player, and we want him to run up the pitch in a wide position. Every time he gets it, that’s what we want for him.

“He’s a fantastic player. He’s as quick as any player I’ve ever worked with in terms of his pace off the mark. He’s a strong lad too. The best thing about him, though, is that he’s a good lad and a good professional to work with.

“He’s quiet and quite reserved, and we just want him to go out and enjoy himself. Every time he gets it, we want him to run forward with it. We don’t want him to be coming inside and trying to do anything too clever.  We just want him to get the ball and play off his instinct. That’s what he’s done. He’s been creating chances and scoring goals, and he’s been fantastic for us.”

Crucially, Pulis has also encouraged Traore to start running behind the opposition defence rather than spending all of his time trying to take on an opponent with the ball at his feet.

The Spaniard’s positional awareness has not always been one of his strengths, but he sprung the offside trap to devastating effect as he set up Britt Assombalonga for Boro’s second goal at the weekend.

While he is currently playing as an out-and-out wide man, there is a good chance Traore could gravitate towards a more central attacking role as his career progresses, and Pulis has been delighted with his willingness to take instructions on board in the last few weeks.

“He received the ball for the second goal by running in behind the defenders, and he doesn’t do that very often,” he said. “We’ve been talking about that in training.

“Again, it’s just a little marker down for him, which we can show him next week. You don’t always have to beat players with the ball when you’ve got that pace - you can beat them by your movement.  We’re pleased with him and the way he’s been playing.”

Pulis was delighted to see his side move to within one win of a guaranteed place in the play-offs, and is looking for a similar level of performance when they take on Millwall on Saturday evening.

Millwall’s 13-game unbeaten run came crashing to an end when they were thrashed by Fulham on Friday night, and Pulis will be urging his players to inflict more damage on the Londoners as they attempt to cement their own top-six spot.

“I can’t really give the players any more praise than they got in the dressing room (at Derby),” he said. “I told them they played really well, but we’ve got a tough game against Millwall now.

“We have to make sure we dust ourselves down, take the good out of this game, and get ready for another big push. Millwall have done fantastically, and their manager deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done there. It’s tough game after tough game at the minute, but that’s this league.”

Boro produced some of their best football of the season as they fashioned a two-goal lead at Derby, but they also passed up a number of chances to put the game completely out of sight.

Jonny Howson struck the crossbar, Mo Besic fired over the top and Traore dragged a low shot past the post as the Derby goal led a somewhat charmed life, and David Nugent’s late spot-kick set up an unnecessarily nervy finale.

“It was a big win, and a good performance,” said Pulis. “I thought we played really well. The only disappointing thing was that 20 minutes in the second half when we really took control of the game and created quite a few opportunities and chances.

“You have to take those opportunities because then it kills the game. The linesman has made a last-minute decision for the penalty, and if you’re only one goal ahead at that stage, it becomes 1-1.

“You can easily drop two points from a decision like that if you don’t take your chances. We have to be a little bit more clinical, especially in the final third, but I thought we played really well.”