IT would have been the easy option for Middlesbrough manager Garry Monk to take Dael Fry out of the firing line as soon as Daniel Ayala returned to full fitness.

There is an argument that it would have been even easier for him to justify paying £2.5m to Birmingham for Ryan Shotton by immediately replacing the recently turned homegrown 20-year-old at the heart of the Boro defence.

Instead Monk did neither. He rewarded Fry for impressively filling the void left by Ayala after picking up an injury on the opening weekend by sticking with the academy graduate and keeping him at the heart of the defence thereafter.

Now, it would seem, Fry will take some shifting. The towering centre-back, renowned around the club for his mature approach and strong character, has belied his years so far alongside Ben Gibson at the heart of the defence.

Monk, ahead of today’s visit of Queens Park Rangers to the Riverside, said: “He is playing because he deserves it. It’s your job to keep your shirt. You have to make sure you stay in it. We have that now here.

“We do a lot of work on and off the pitch. All of them together you can see how much they are together. We will continue to grow and we will try to in a good position to win games with the right mentality and that mentality comes from trying to keep your place.”

Fry’s performances have helped Middlesbrough keep five clean sheets from their seven league games this season; including three on the bounce.

Boro skipper Grant Leadbitter has witnessed Fry’s development at close quarters over the last few years and it has come as no surprise to see him perform like he is at the moment.

Leadbitter said: “When I first saw Dael here I knew he was going to be a top player. He is level headed, has an old man’s head, and nothing fazes him. He stays calm under pressure.

“He takes the ball all the time. Doesn’t get flustered. Dael will always have to stay on his toes though because we have good players here, so he will have keep performing to stay in the team like all of us do.

“That’s the mentality we have in this club. You have to keep your shirt and Dael’s performances are earning him the right to stay in there. I am sure he is enjoying it.”

Despite a new way of playing under Monk and ideas, Middlesbrough have still managed to come up with a way to be tight at the back and is reminiscent of the two promotion-chasing years under Aitor Karanka.

It is credit to Monk that he appears to have recaptured those defensive ways despite huge changes to personnel, while even the forwards are working hard – and Leabditter has paid tribute to one man in particular.

Britt Assombalonga, the £15m striker bought from Nottingham Forest, has looked the part in the final third because of his goals and power, but he has also grafted hard to help out in a defensive sense.

Leadbitter said: “As players we see how much Britt works. Nobody under-estimates what he does when he is on the pitch. Everyone knows about what a threat he is but I don’t think everybody appreciates the work-rate he puts in.

“That was highlighted the other night when he popped up at left-back position agaoinst Aston Villa when we were down to ten men. Britt is and is going to be a big player for this football club.”