MICHAEL Carrick says Emmanuel Latte Lath's success in the second half of the season at Middlesbrough shows why patience is required with new signings. And the Ivorian's stunning form at the back end of the campaign is also evidence of the benefits that come with a prolonged stretch in the side. Carrick often talks about the importance of his players developing "connections", which is why the head coach was so calm in the early stages of the season when Boro were struggling for form and results.
He was always adamant that with time things would click into place. That was certainly the case with Latte Lath, who had the first half of his first season on Teesside disrupted by injury and struggled for rhythm. But he put those frustrations behind him in quite emphatic fashion in the stages of the campaign, scooping the Championship's Player of the Month award in April and playing his way into the Ivory Coast squad for the very first time.
This summer will be different to last in that Boro won't need to dramatically overhaul their squad and replace a number of key players, as was the case 12 months ago - with Carrick starting last season with a new-look squad which inevitably took time to gel. This summer he hopes to be adding to an already healthy-looking squad rather than replacing stars, which should help the new signings as they find their feet on Teesside - with Latte Lath evidence that fine signings don't always shine from day one. RECOMMENDED READING: Ex-Boro defender has Eur.