"If I get a chance in 90 minutes then I'll take it."
That's the confidence every manager and fan is looking for in a goal-grabbing centre-forward.
The man in question? None other than former Boro striker Yakubu, now back in the Championship and looking to fire Reading to FA Cup glory this weekend.
Enough about the Yak. While his goalscoring record has never been in doubt, it's the strike rate of Boro's current frontmen that we're bothered about now.
Goals win games and Aitor Karanka has never once doubted the quality of the three men tasked with firing Boro to promotion this season.
With that in mind, it's hard to ignore the fact that Boro's goals for column isn't as heavy as that of their rivals. Indeed, Boro have hit the net on fewer occasions than all of the teams in the top nine of the Championship this year.
Surprisingly, it's a stat that Karanka pointed out after all of his frontmen had got on the scoresheet against Millwall in midweek.
“If you look at the teams which are in a similar position to us, their strikers have scored 40-45 goals and we are 25."
He's not concerned. But should he be?
Daryl Murphy has smashed 21 goals for Ipswich this year, Odion Ighalo 17 for Watford and Cameron Jerome and Chris Martin have both hit the net on 16 occasions.
It comes as quite a surprise then to find that Gary Hooper is in fact the striker with the best conversion rate of all of the frontmen plying a trade for the top seven teams in the Championship.
The fact he's only had 14 shots on target this season compared to the 34 of Kike goes a long way to explaining that.
Granted, stats can often be misleading but a glance at the strike-rate of Watford's frontmen and it's clear to see why the Hornets are currently the joint-form team in the Championship right now.
Ighalo, Matej Vydra and Troy Deeney are in double figures and all boast respectable conversion rates. The latter pair also have five assists each to their name.
Watford: They've plundered 17 more goals than Boro this year but shipped 18 more. They're a point worse off than Karanka's table-toppers. The fine margins.
So how do Boro's strikers compare with the goal-grabbers for the sides chasing one of the three spots in the Premier League next year?
Kike has hit a goal every 261 minutes for Boro this season - a stat that sees him lagging behind his rivals - but fans of the Spanish striker, myself included, would point to his all-round contribution. Still, he needs to add more goals to his game.
Tuesday was a good start with Bamford and Vossen also getting in on the act. A rich vein of form for one, two or all of the frontmen now would go a long way to helping Boro keep a grip on top spot.
Here's how the strikers of the top seven teams in the Championship compare:
Boro
Karanka's opinion won't be altered, he's reiterated his belief on a number of occasions that Boro boast the best three strikers in the Championship.
So what do the stats say?
Kike got off to a flying start to the campaign and looked a good bet to continue his form in front of goal but a baron spell in the middle of the campaign means the striker's conversion rate is just 10%.
His goal every 261 minutes is higher than he'd like it to be and higher than Patrick Bamford's, who's hit the net every 175 minutes this season.
Bamford's 11 goals from 32 efforts on target gives him a 19% conversion rate while Jelle Vossen has chipped in with six goals in the league.
Best strike rate: Patrick Bamford - 11 goals from 32 shots on target. A goal every 176 minutes at a 19% conversion rate.
Derby County
Two defeats on the bounce and Chris Martin and Darren Bent on the sidelines - even Steve McClaren must be finding it hard to dig out the positives at the minute.
Martin's form has been crucial this season as the Rams look to go one better than last term. He's smashed 16 goals from 38 shots on target, a conversion rate of 24%.
The signing of Bent raised a few eyebrows in January but it's proved to be a masterstroke so far - the one-time £24m man has hit seven goals in 10 games in all competitions.
It's finding the goals without those two in the side that could prove problematic although Jeff Hendrick and Johnny Russell have both chipped in.
Best strike rate: Chris Martin - 16 goals from 38 shots on target. A goal every 163 minutes at a 24% conversion rate.
Watford
The reliable Championship powerhouse Troy Deeney and Matej Vydra looked like a potent partnership for the promotion-chasing Hornets before a ball was kicked.
Step forward Odion Ighalo to steal the show. The Nigerian striker who signed on loan from Udinese - of course - has smashed 17 goals so far this season. And he's been backed up in earnest by the other goal-grabbing pair who have 25 league goals between them.
The trio have hit more than 100 shots on target in total with Ighalo boasting an impressive strike rate of a goal every 88 minutes.
Vydra and Deeney - both with a conversion rate of 24% - have been clinical as well. Slavisa Jokanovic has done an excellent job at Watford but the role of his strikers shouldn't be underestimated.
Best strike rate: Odion Ighalo - 17 goals from 28 shots on target. A goal every 88 minutes at a 39% conversion rate.
Bournemouth
The Cherries lost Lewis Grabban in the summer but his replacement Callum Wilson has taken the Championship by storm.
Sharp, clever and with an eye for goal, if Bournemouth don't win promotion this season it surely won't be long before a Premier League club takes a punt on the 23-year-old.
Wilson has hit 15 goals in the league this year, topping Bournemouth's goal tally, and has a 19% conversion rate, getting on the scoresheet every 196 minutes.
But he isn't Eddie Howe's most clinical goal-grabber. That honour goes to Yann Kermorgant, according to Opta stats.
Best strike rate: Yann Kermorgant - 11 goals from 26 shots on target. A goal every 148 minutes at a 21% conversion rate.
Norwich City
Is he clinical or doesn't he hit the target enough? Gary Hooper's 45% conversion rate is impressive but he's only managed 14 shots on target for the Canaries this season.
In fact, both Cameron Jerome and Lewis Grabban have hit the net more for Alex Neil's promotion hopefuls.
Jerome signed on the dotted line from Stoke City in the summer and has proved to be a canny acquisition, hitting 16 goals. The much-travelled striker has had 35 shots on target this season, managing a goal every 131 minutes.
Lewis Grabban has managed 12 goals from 42 shots on target but the striker who has his five goals in his last five Championship games looks set to miss a crucial period of the season as he goes under the knife for an ankle operation.
Best strike rate: Gary Hooper - Nine goals from 14 shots on target. A goal every 122 minutes at a 45% conversion rate.
Brentford
Action Images 
Brentford's Andre Gray (R) in action against Middlesbrough's Kenneth Omeruo
As far as strikers go, it's been down to Andre Gray to get the goals to keep Brentford's surprise promotion dream alive.
The gifted frontman, signed from Luton last year, has 12 goals to his name in the league, the only Bees player to reach double figures.
Alex Pritchard, Ramallo Jota and Jonathan Douglas have chipped in but it's Gray who has played a pivotal role in ensuring Brentford keep pace with the play-off pack.
Best strike rate: Andre Gray - 12 goals from 32 shots on target. A goal every 220 minutes at a 22% conversion rate.
Ipswich Town
If Ipswich Town manage to secure promotion to the Premier League this year then Mick McCarthy owes Daryl Murphy a drink.
He's not the most gifted or orthodox frontman in the Championship but it's hard to pick fault with 21 league goals.
Chris Wood joined the Tractor Boys this week as McCarthy looks to get his side's promotion push back on track but it's Murphy, with the help of David McGoldrick, who's fired the goals to help Ipswich enjoy an impressive season.
McGoldrick has been sidelined recently but McCarthy believes he'll be back for the Boro clash this month. The 27-year-old has only hit the net every 308 minutes this year - hardly setting the world alight - but has proved to be a good foil for Murphy.
Best strike rate: Daryl Murphy - 21 goals from 52 shots on target. A goal every 137 minutes at a 21% conversion rate.
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