Haber and Agyemang are both getting up to speed according to the Boro boss

SUNDAY’S match-winner Marcus Haber was praised by his manager Gary Smith after the Canadian scored his first goal for the club following his summer move from SPL side St Johnstone.

The 23-year-old came off the bench as a 64th-minute substitute at the Ricoh Arena before nodding home the winner six minutes later to seal a fine victory against the Sky Blues.

“He had tonsillitis so he’d been on antibiotics for the best part of seven days prior to the match and had barely trained,” Smith said. “We’re also trying to nurse Pat [Agyemang] through a period as well due to the how the contract issues went and the work he’d done [before joining us]. So the pair of them were always going to feature for a period in the game and fortunately Marcus made a difference when he came on.

“But I thought Pat’s output for over an hour was very good and we needed that.”

It is clear Haber is a player Smith thinks a lot of, insisting that if he can add more goals to his overall game then it won’t be long before other teams start sniffing around Boro’s No.9.

“A very good friend of mine – who is an agent – had mentioned him and through some enquiries and investigating he started to fit what we were after,” said Smith, who explained how the frontman first appeared on his radar.

“He’s a big, strong lad and he’s mobile, but he’s also got terrific technique and understanding. The thing he’s been missing in his career has been goals, so if he can add goals to his game he might not be around too long!”