EARLIER this week, Jonathan Woodgate invited Djed Spence to his house for a turkey dinner because he did not want the teenager to spend Christmas Day alone. His offer was politely declined, but this afternoon, Spence repaid the favour. Courtesy of his first senior goal, the 19-year-old served up his manager a Boxing Day treat.

“I offered him to come round my house for Christmas dinner because I didn't want him to be on his own,” said Woodgate, who watched his side climb to 18th position in the table as Spence’s first-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Huddersfield. “In the end, he had someone up on Christmas Day and he sent me a picture of his Christmas dinner to show he was fine.

“I didn’t want him to be on his own, so that was perfect. Someone came up and cooked him dinner and sent me a nice picture through, so I was over the moon he wasn’t on his own. He’s living in his own house, somewhere near Darlington, and his dinner looked all right to be fair. He could compete for Masterchef, although it wasn’t as good as mine.”

Woodgate’s leftovers would have tasted okay this evening too, with his side’s latest success making it four home wins in a row since West Brom left Riverside with maximum points in the middle of October.

Spence’s close-range finish settled things, with the youngster tapping home after Ashley Fletcher crossed from the left, and since stepping up to the senior squad at the start of the month, the Londoner has made a significant impact.

His pace and energy have enhanced Middlesbrough’s attacking capabilities, and justified Woodgate’s decision to switch to a wing-back formation to help accommodate both Spence and Hayden Coulson in the team.

“Djed was brilliant,” said the Boro head coach. “He can keep on getting better, and it’s my job to really push him. That’s what I’ll be doing.

“I don’t want Djed to settle for what he’s done now, I’m going to keep on pushing him and try and get him on the next level, he’s still got a lot to learn. But what he’s doing is he’s playing with no fear. He’s playing with real aggression in his game, and I’m really pleased for him.

“When you get opportunities you’ve got to take them, and Djed has done that. His future was maybe a little bit uncertain at the start of the season, but he certainly won’t be going on loan in January now, that’s for sure.”

Woodgate promoted Spence to the starting line-up for this month’s win over Charlton Athletic even though he had not even featured in a senior squad, and the Teessider’s faith in his youngsters continues to be rewarded.

“You’ve got to be brave to do it,” he said. “I could have put a left-sider on that side (instead of Spence at right wing-back), but you’ve got to be brave to make these decisions. I’ll always go with core values, and one of those is, ‘Be brave in what you want to do’. I think that’s paying dividends.

“Hayden Coulson, he’s done well so he stays in the team even though I brought in Marc Bola (in the same position). Djed? I brought (Anfernee) Dijksteel in. (Thomas) Mejias? (Aynsley) Pears plays.

“(Marcus) Tavernier is getting a really good run in the team now, and he looks as though he’ll be a really good player. Dael Fry is in the team, Lewis Wing is in the team, and if they do well, they’ll stay in.”

This week’s back-to-back victories over Stoke and Huddersfield have lifted much of the pressure that built in the wake of defeats at Leeds and Swansea, but Woodgate is refusing to get too carried away, with a daunting trip to league leaders West Brom next up on Sunday.

“We’re six points clear, basically seven with goal difference, but that isn’t a cushion for me,” he said. “I don’t want to get too carried away, I want to really push my players and I’ll be doing that.”