PATRICK BAMFORD knows exactly what it takes to spearhead a promotion push in the Championship. Three seasons ago, the striker scored 19 goals during a loan spell at the Riverside. Bamford was named Championship Player of the Season, Middlesbrough made the play-offs before missing out on the top-flight as they lost at Wembley.

A lot has happened since. Boro forced their way into the Premier League, only to come back down again; Bamford struggled through unsuccessful stints at Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley, and to this point, even his return to Teesside has not really gone to plan.

He remains a supremely-talented striker though, so when an under-fire Garry Monk was badly in need of an attacking spark to lift some of the pressure that had been mounting in the wake of back-to-back defeats to Derby and Bristol City, he found himself turning to Bamford. It proved a wise move.

Bamford’s first league start since mid-September was the catalyst for Boro’s most authoritative display of the campaign. Playing in the ‘number ten’ role that has not really suited Martin Braithwaite in the last few weeks, the former Chelsea loanee provided an exuberance and direct attacking approach that has been lacking in too much of the Teessiders’ play this season.

Receiving the ball in the Ipswich half, Bamford looked to drive at his opponents or thread a forward pass to Britt Assombalonga. It sounds like a simple approach, but in a side that has developed a tendency to pass sideways or backwards, it made a significant difference.

Bamford’s second-half strike, which followed a 44th-minute effort from Braithwaite, provided the 24-year-old with his first Championship goal since April 2015. It was also the first goal scored by a Middlesbrough player from outside the area since Cristhian Stuani scored at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light almost 16 months ago.

Sometimes, you have to be prepared to give it a go, and while Bamford can sometimes be accused of lacking physicality, his willingness to try things in front of goal makes him a valuable asset. On this evidence, he certainly merits much more involvement than he has been offered so far this term.

“As a manager, you have to test players and see if they’re the type of player that can respond to being in or out of a team, or in or out of a squad,” said Monk, who has only named Bamford in five of his Championship starting line-ups all season. “That’s part of your job.

“In the last two or three weeks, Patrick has really responded and trained very well. He got his opportunity and took it, and that’s what you want from your players. Credit to him.

“We know how effective he can be. Like all the players, you recognise what they can be or what they have been in the past. You know they can be that again in the future. I’m very open with all the players, and I think Patrick would be the first to say that.

“Individually, I speak to them, and there’s a standard I expect. If they dip below that, you try to help them. There’s a lot of talk from before (about Bamford), with people saying, ‘You could have been this’ or ‘You haven’t really played in the last two years since then’.

“He’s had a lot of ups and downs, but you work with him to make him realise he can get back there, and show him what he has to do to do that. Sometimes, you have to strip it down a little, and see the response and whether they have the determination and desire to get back to that level. In the last three or four weeks, Patrick has really knuckled down in training and been really focused. He’s got his opportunity, and that was the reason why he was able to take it.”

Bamford’s return was a key factor in Boro’s success, and the Teessiders also benefited from the reappearance of Grant Leadbitter. The midfielder was restored to the starting line-up after being omitted from the squad at Ashton Gate, and responded by controlling the heart of midfield.

With Stewart Downing also impressing as he set up Braithwaite’s first-half opener, it was telling that Boro were reliant on a trio of players who helped form the bedrock of the promotion pushes under Aitor Karanka. Monk might have been keen to change things when he first arrived on Teesside, but he has gradually come to trust some of the key performers who were there before him.

The upshot at the weekend was a performance in keeping with many of the displays that turned Boro into powerful promotion contenders in the final two years of their last spell in the Championship.

Resolute and well-organised at the back, and bright and industrious in attack, especially in the second half, this was a display that stood in marked contrast to the desultory displays against Derby and Bristol City that had led to questions being asked about Monk’s position.

The Boro boss desperately needed a response from his players, and he got it. As a result, any suggestion that those players are ‘not playing for him’ can be well and truly shelved. This is a squad still getting to grips with exactly what Monk is demanding; it is not one that is ready to throw in the towel.

“It was very important to show a reaction and get the right result,” said Braithwaite. “We have all been saying that the last few performances have not been acceptable, but we had to show we were able to do something about it.

“The last couple of games were not good, but we wanted to turn everything around. The last defeat we had at home, that was something that should never happen at our home ground.

“We have set ourselves a standard now in terms of the determination and effort. We have to have this determination, and the same willingness to win. No one will give anything to you in this league, and I think it is the people who have the desire to win the most that will win. That’s what we have to show every game.”

That desire was there from the off, and having been rightly criticised for some of their slow starts this season, Boro were the dominant force from the opening skirmishes as they outplayed an Ipswich side who had lost just one of their previous six matches.

Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski made first-half saves from Ben Gibson and Assombalonga, but was powerless to prevent Braithwaite opening the scoring a minute before the break. Grant Ward failed to deal with Downing’s right-wing cross, and a grateful Braithwaite lashed home the loose ball from close range.

Bamford doubled Boro’s lead six minutes after the break, cutting in from the right before drilling a low finish into the left-hand corner, and the hosts saw out the final half-hour with a minimum of fuss.

“Everyone was really determined to turn things around,” said Braithwaite. “We worked really hard, and that was something we were focusing on. We had a real focus on working hard on the pitch, and really working for each other. I thought we stuck together well, and everyone showed they really wanted to win.”