RUDY GESTEDE is hoping his goalscoring appearance from the substitutes’ bench against Manchester United has given Steve Agnew some food for thought as he ponders his formation for Middlesbrough’s crucial relegation battle at Swansea.

Gestede claimed his first Premier League goal in a Boro shirt as he stabbed home from close range to briefly threaten a comeback in his side’s 3-1 defeat to United.

The result meant Agnew was unable to end the Teessiders’ lengthy winless run in his first game since replacing Aitor Karanka, but Boro’s performance in the final 20 minutes still created some grounds for optimism as they forced their opponents onto the back foot.

The improvement accompanied the switch to a 4-4-2 formation, with Gestede partnering Alvaro Negredo in attack, as Agnew displayed a tactical flexibility that was rarely apparent under Karanka.

The new head coach must now decide whether to stick with two strikers when Boro visit the Liberty Stadium on Sunday to take on a Swansea side sitting two places above them in the table.

Gestede accepts Agnew will have the final say, but the January signing is hoping his 22-minute substitute appearance against United has proved it is possible to play with two centre-forwards alongside each other in the top-flight.

“It is the manager’s choice to decide what formation we play,” said Gestede. “It (playing two up front) worked well towards the end of the game – let’s see in the next game if we play like that all the way through. The new manager will make his choice. Whatever he chooses, we will be behind him.”

Gestede’s strike against Manchester United ended a run of more than 500 minutes without Boro scoring a Premier League goal, and while it failed to result in the Teessiders adding to their points tally, the 28-year-old is hoping it will help engender some confidence ahead of this weekend’s game.

“It is always great to score,” he said. “We were struggling a bit in the last few games to score goals, but we have the quality in there to do that.

“Maybe we will have a bit more confidence now. When you change your manager, it can give you a lift. We need to use that to take us forward and make sure we play at a high enough level for the rest of the season.”