IT might have taken slightly longer than some had anticipated, but Martin Braithwaite claims Middlesbrough have finally clicked into top gear ahead of Sunday’s eagerly-awaited Tees-Wear derby with Sunderland.

The Teessiders produced their best display of the season as they cruised to a 3-1 win at Hull City on Tuesday night, with the win following hot on the heels of last weekend’s 2-0 success at Reading.

The back-to-back away wins have lifted Boro to within a place of the Championship play-off places, and helped draw a line under the stuttering start to the season that had seen a chorus of boos greet the final whistle of this month’s home defeat to Cardiff City.

The return of Daniel Ayala, Grant Leadbitter and Jonny Howson to the starting line-up has helped solidify the spine of Garry Monk’s team, while teenage midfielder Marcus Tavernier has proved an exciting addition on the left-hand side.

Braithwaite’s recovery from injury has also been influential, and after Tuesday’s opener at the KCOM Stadium made it three goals in his last five matches, the Danish attacker is delighted with the way things have come together in the last few games.

“I believe things are clicking into place,” said Braithwaite, who has formed a productive attacking partnership with Britt Assombalonga. “We are looking sharp, and I think things are moving in the right direction.

“We still have some work to do, and we can still improve, but I feel like we are getting there. Everyone is happy, but we need to build on what we have done in the last two games.

“The way Garry wants to play, it takes some time to adapt to it, but I feel as though finally everyone is getting there. Now, we are ticking over and winning games, and that’s what we want to do. We have a really important game on Sunday now, and want to finish off this week with three wins. That’s what we will be going for.”

Braithwaite was always going to be one of Boro’s key additions following his £9m summer move from Toulouse, and his performance in the final pre-season game with Augsburg created plenty of excitement ahead of the start of the campaign.

However, that anticipation quickly dissipated when he suffered a leg injury that left him on the sidelines for almost two months.

Braithwaite missed eight Championship matches as he completed his recovery, but while his side might have missed his attacking fluidity and intelligent off-the-ball movement, his absence provided an opportunity to get used to the challenges of life in the Championship. He was able to assess the pace and physicality of the game from the sidelines, a process that smoothed his eventual return.

“It was hard to get the injury when I did,” he said. “It was frustrating, but I’m a believer in a positive mind-set and a positive spirit. Bad stuff will happen sometimes, but I always believe it happens for a reason.

“In the time I was out of the team, I was able to settle here with my family and work really hard. I could look at the team, and what the team needed, and think about what I could improve and give to the team. When I was out, I always knew I would come back stronger, and that is what I have shown since.

“It gave me the chance to have a look at the league. When you are out, you don’t have to use that as a negative, you have to try to make it a positive. You can really study the game, and that is what I was doing in every game they were playing, I was really studying the team.

“I could watch the other teams and see how the game was evolving. I think I was reading things well, and I’m pleased with how things have gone since I’ve been back.”

Braithwaite had a double cause for celebration on Tuesday as his goalscoring display on Humberside followed confirmation of his call-up to the Denmark squad earlier in the day.

The Danes face a play-off double-header with the Republic of Ireland for a place in the World Cup finals, and if selected, Braithwaite could well find himself lining up against Boro team-mates Darren Randolph and Cyrus Christie.

That should guarantee some lively training-ground banter in the next few days, although Braithwaite insists any thoughts of international action will be shelved until Boro have entertained a Sunderland side still reeling from this week’s dismissal of Simon Grayson.

“Of course it will be interesting,” he said. “It will be an interesting challenge, but I’m not really giving it too much thought yet. We have a really important game at the weekend first, and I am really focused on that match. We’re focused on ourselves. I don’t really know whether it is a big game for Sunderland or not – but it is certainly a big game for us. We’re going to attack it.”