TONY PULIS has challenged Britt Assombalonga to cement a place in Middlesbrough’s first-choice starting line, and claimed the striker’s second-half performance at West Bromwich Albion has set the standard he has to match in the remainder of the season.

Assombalonga was a 65th-minute substitute at the Hawthorns, and his two goals after leaving the bench enabled Boro to claw back a one-goal deficit to claim an impressive 3-2 win.

The striker has not started a league game since Boxing Day, but with Boro having failed to add to their attacking ranks on deadline-day last week, he is set to be an extremely important player in the final three months of the season.

The Northern Echo:

It remains to be seen whether he starts in tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at Newport County, with Boro looking to set up a fifth-round tie with Manchester City, but Pulis is confident he will get plenty of chances to impress if he continues to produce performances like the weekend.

Pulis said: “I think you start with him every week if he plays at that level - that's what we want. There's no 'I've got a favourite here or there', I can’t think of any managers that do that. It's just getting the best out of players in respect of the team.

“Britt's two goals were fantastic, I was really pleased. The goal against Birmingham when he came off the bench as well was a great goal.

“He doesn’t want to be looked on as an impact player who will come on when the game is more stretched and players have run out of a little bit of steam. The boy wants to play and wants to start - to do that he has to be up to speed from the start.”

Assombalonga was linked with a possible January exit from the Riverside, with Bristol City having made a number of inquiries about a potential deal.

Given that he cost £15m when he moved from Nottingham Forest under Garry Monk, there was never any realistic possibility of him leaving last month, but Pulis admits the uncertainty created by the January window was an unhelpful distraction.

He has discussed the situation with Assombalonga in the last few days, and is confident the 26-year-old is fully focused on trying to fire Boro back to the Premier League.

He said: “We’ve had a chat about things. Everybody is different, and hopefully with the window having closed now, everybody can settle down and concentrate on the one thing, and that is to do the best they possibly can for this team. That’s not just Britt, it’s everybody.”