Emnes wants to repay boss with goals

MARVIN EMNES has paid tribute to Tony Mowbray for helping him to rediscover his confidence and outlined an intention to pay him back with his performances. Emnes scored his first hat-trick in English football at Walsall on Tuesday to take his tally to four goals in his opening two matches of the season. It was the sort of attacking display that helped highlight why Mowbray was so keen to keep him out of the clutches of Swansea City by handing him a new four-year deal. With options limited, Emnes has effectively become an automatic selection - a far cry from the days when he was unable to even figure among the substitutes. With attacking midfielder Merouane Zemmama unlikely to play in August after sustaining a hip injury at the Banks's Stadium, further onus will be on Emnes' creativity. Mowbray does, though, look to have developed an understanding of how to get the best out of the £3.2m signing, who failed to make a significant impact under both Gareth Southgate and Gordon Strachan. Emnes said: "It gives you confidence to know you have a manager who values you, it makes you play better, that's what you need as a player, as a player you need confidence to play good football. "I had that before (with Southgate) but then with the next manager (Strachan) things were different. Now the new manager believes in me and that's helping me play better." Emnes is still only 23, having arrived from Sparta Rotterdam as a 20-year-old in 2008 with a reputation for playing good attacking football for his club side and the Holland Under-21s. Yet it took until Mowbray took over from Strachan last October for him to be given a real opportunity, when he returned from a loan spell at Swansea full of confidence. The Swans have been keen to take him to the Premier League this summer, but having agreed a contract extension he is now looking to reward his boss with promotion. "Firstly I have to make sure I keep scoring goals, I have to play good football and try to help the team," he said. "Secondly I want to go up with Middlesbrough. I think Middlesbrough are a Premier League club and that's the level we should be at. "I want to play at the highest level and I have to work hard to achieve that. "If we play as a team and win games as a team there's a big chance for us to go into the Premier League." Emnes' treble at Walsall in the Carling Cup offered an indication that he could provide the goals in the Championship, having already scored in last weekend's opener with Portsmouth. He will be looking to extend that run against Leeds United on Saturday, when Mowbray could have another player available in his ranks. Faris Haroun has been in Belgium for the past two days getting his belongings together ahead of a permanent move from Germinal Beerschot. And it remains to be seen whether Mowbray - who could yet lose Matthew Bates to Swansea if a suitable bid is made - can pull off an ambitious move for PSV Eindhoven's Orlando Engelaar. PSV are looking for a substantial loan fee for the player or he is believed to be available for £1.5m, a figure Middlesbrough are unlikely to pay as things stand.

Source: Northern_Echo