Latte Lath's Luke Ayling wish, Law McCabe's full debut and other Middlesbrough talking points

Middlesbrough ended their season on a high on Saturday as they beat Watford 3-1 at the Riverside.

Extending their end-of-season run to just one defeat in 12, they finished the campaign eighth in the table and just four points off the play-off places despite all the challenges faced this season. When considering they failed to win any of their opening seven games, they ended with plenty of optimism for next season.

Emmanuel Latte Lath, Alex Bangura and Isaiah Jones scored the goals that helped them to their final-day victory as they now head into the summer in good mood. Here are the main talking points from the game.

READ MORE: Middlesbrough in pole position to sign Luke Ayling as Leeds loanee makes feelings clear

Latte Lath's Luke Ayling wish

Luke Ayling's loan spell at Boro has proven productive to say the least. The veteran right-back has proven a solid addition to the squad since his January move from Leeds United and has played in every game for the club except the one he couldn't against his parent club.

In his last 11 appearances, the right-back has provided eight assists, with two coming against Watford. He took a little time to get up to speed, learn the intricacies of the tactical plan and also build connections with team-mates, but once he did, he's been superb.

With that in mind, it was little surprise to have confirmation finally that Boro will pursue a deal to sign the 32-year-old permanently this summer, with his contract up at Elland Road. Along with the returning Tommy Smith, it will give Boro two reliable, experienced and crucially, alternative right-back options next term.

And one man who will be happy with that will be Latte Lath - with Ayling providing three assists for his 11 goals of late, while their celebrations together have displayed their connection on and off the pitch.

Admitting Latte Lath will be hoping to see Ayling stay, Carrick said: "On Luke and Manu’s connection, that's all about their personalities and their willingness to hit and off, speak and understand each other. In the end, you get your rewards. The way Luke gets up and down that side and his deliveries, he’s been terrific for us."

Law McCabe's impressive full debut

With one eye on the future, Carrick handed Law McCabe his first start for the club following on from his extended run out at Cardiff City last weekend. It was a big moment for the 17-year-old midfielder who has trained with and travelled with the first-team for most of the season.

If you watched the game completely blind to any of the context, however, you'd never have guessed that was his first start. Such was the comfort and calmness he displayed throughout, the biggest compliment you could give McCabe is that he just looked like he belonged.

Carrick has previously made the point of youngsters needing to earn the trust of their senior team-mates and that was evident in the fact there was never a hint of doubt in giving the ball to him. When he did receive it he moved it on wisely and always showed the bravery to show for the ball in every moment of the game.

While not necessarily physically commanding, his youthful exuberance helped him win back possession a few times too, as he read the game well to knick in and make a couple of positive interception. All in all, it was a really encouraging first full outing for McCabe, and he will no doubt hope to show even more in pre-season and building on it with more next season.

Debutants number highlights growth and importance of continuity this summer

There's no reason why McCabe can't next season either, because Carrick has shown willingness since arriving on Teesside to make use of, and help the development of, the club's academy players. James Wilson, 17, was the latest academy debutant under Carrick's watch as the defender came on for a late debut.

Incredibly, he was the sixth academy player to debut this season, which combined with the new signings over the course of the season (15 in total, though goalkeeper Jamie Jones didn't make an appearance), it made for 20 Boro debutants this season, taking Boro up to the 999 mark in the chronicling of Boro players past and present for their Legacy Numbers campaign.

While the number of academy debutants is a matter for pride for Boro - with the production of talent for the future etched into the history of the club. However, the high number of new players also highlights one of Boro's biggest challenges this season - with the impact keenly felt, both at the start of the season and for a month or so after the January transfer window.

Carrick made the point after, with the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, saying: “I think we’ve had 20 players make their debuts for us this year, which is obviously an incredible amount. Obviously there are some youngsters in that, but the amount of new signings coming into the club, it’s a lot of players when you consider gelling and connections and wavelengths with each other.

"I think the players have got to take a huge amount of credit for being willing to adapt and being willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. To finish the season in the way that we have epitomises that. The boys have got to take an awful lot of credit because it’s an awful lot of players to put into a season and expect to hit the ground running and click."

With a core group that are far more settled and less likely to move on and be completely broken up in the manner that the squad at the end of last term was, that continuity going into next season could be a huge asset in helping them get off to a much better start this time around. They will undoubtedly want to add a bit of extra quality to the squad this summer, but there should be less emphasis on new players needing to come in and hit the ground running.