MICKAEL Tavares claims Tuesday night’s last-gasp win over Burnley has given the squad a massive lift and believes it is only a matter of time before Middlesbrough climb up the Championship table.

When Tavares arrived on Teesside, Boro had won only one league game and pressure was already mounting on boss Gordon Strachan and his players to turn things around.

The Senegalese international has already experienced the highs and the lows of life at Boro after playing in the heavy defeat at QPR and then the win over Burnley but the 27-year-old says the win has put much needed confidence back into the squad.

“It was good to win,”

Tavares said. “I think we played very well and everybody enjoyed being out on the pitch, it has given us confidence.

“We have to try to keep it like this and start to win more games. It’s the same everywhere when you win, the morale is better for everybody and I hope it will stay like this for a long time.

“Football is like this, you don’t know what can happen, but I think we deserved the victory and it’s good for everyone to take confidence.

“I think we can move up the league. I’ve seen a few games and I’ve heard a lot of things to compare us with other teams, so yes, I think we can do it.

“It’s important for the confidence of the team. In France, Lyon is the biggest team and they have started very badly, but I’m sure they will finish on the top. I think it will be the same with Middlesbrough because we have a lot of quality in the team.”

Boro have managed only four goals so far this season and Tavares thinks a lack of confidence has stopped the side hitting the back of the net.

“The most important thing is to score,’’ he said. “The last game we won in the last minute, but hopefully we can win games in the first half and score three or four goals.

“We have to keep it like this to play our way up and have more confidence in front of goal.”

Tavares is on loan from Bundesliga outfit Hamburg until January and despite revealing it wasn’t his plan to come to England, the midfielder admits he is already keen to stay at Boro beyond the end of his deal.

“It’s my wish to stay here in Middlesbrough, because I like it and I will do everything I can to make sure of that,’’ he claimed.

“I enjoy being here, I think the squad is very good.

There’s a good atmosphere and the coach is very good, I like him.

“It wasn’t my plan to come here to England to be honest.

I didn’t know Middlesbrough very well, but after I talked to my manager he told me it would be interesting, so we came here to visit the club and to speak with the coach.

“I felt the confidence of the coach so I was very interested to come here and help the team get into the top league.

“It’s my dream to play in the Premier League and that’s why I came here, because I’m sure that we can do it.

“I didn’t come just to play, I came to get this team into the Premier League and I know we can do it.’’ Although central midfield is his preferred position, Tavares can also play on the left or behind the strikers and despite being new to English football, he believes he is already getting used to the faster pace of the game.

“When I was younger I was playing more like the No 10 role but now I play more defensively,’’ he said.

“English football is good, because it’s fast and you have a lot of contact, but I think football is the same everywhere, it’s very fast and very aggressive, so I’m used to it.

“German football is physical so there’s not a lot of difference but you have more contact here and the referees let the game carry on, so you have to get used to that.”