PATRICK BAMFORD accepts he will be a marked man for the remainder of the season – but the Middlesbrough striker is confident he can handle the pressures that go hand in hand with being the most in-form goalscorer in the Championship.

Bamford scored his sixth goal in the last seven matches at the weekend as Boro beat previous leaders Derby County to briefly take over at the top of the table before Bournemouth’s win over Cardiff City sent them back down to second on goals scored.

The England Under-21 international also won the penalty that enabled Grant Leadbitter to double Boro’s lead en route to a 2-0 win, and the quality of his all-round attacking display justifiably saw him claim the Man of the Match honours.

His status as a Chelsea loanee means he is always going to command a certain amount of national media attention, but his form over the course of the last month has led many to regard him as the hottest property in the whole of the Football League.

That is a big tag to live up to, but Bamford is ready to embrace the limelight as he spearheads a promotion push that continues to gather increased momentum by the week.

“I know people have been talking about me and my position with regard to being on loan from Chelsea, but I like that,” said the 21-year-old, who has moved ahead of Kike as Boro’s top-scoring striker this season. “Some people might see it as pressure, but I don’t really see it like that. It’s always nice if people are talking about you, and I never see that as a bad thing.

“Personally, I knew I could go on this kind of scoring run. It’s just nice to be able to prove it to people because maybe there were some doubters before. I knew in my head what I was capable of, and I knew I had the ability to do something like this. It’s nice to be able to show people what I can do.

“I felt like I had a lot of momentum behind me at Derby last season, and a similar thing is happening now. A very similar thing happened at MK Dons where I scored a lot of goals in a short space of time. I don’t know what it is, but sometimes when I score one, I seem to go on a bit of a run. Hopefully, I can keep it going for as long as possible.”

While Bamford’s current loan deal is due to expire at the end of the month, the striker again reiterated his desire to remain at the Riverside for the remainder of the season last week.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has also confirmed his willingness for the current arrangement to be extended to the end of the campaign, and it is merely a matter of waiting for the transfer window to formally reopen so that the technicalities of the new loan deal can be completed.

Only time will tell whether Bamford is capable of forcing his way into the first-team picture at Stamford Bridge, but that remains his long-term ambition and the experience gained from his current involvement at the Riverside can only help.

“I hope Jose was impressed, and I know Jose likes him,” said Karanka. “Jose is happy with Bamford here because he feels Patrick is happy here.

“It is good for his development, good for us because he is scoring goals and good for Chelsea because I don’t have any doubt that he can be a potential player for Chelsea in the future.”

For now, Bamford will concentrate on scoring for Boro, and having claimed eight goals during a loan spell at Derby in the second half of last season, he admits he felt an added incentive to impress at the weekend.

Derby boss Steve McClaren tried to re-sign Bamford this summer, but aware of comments over a perceived lack of physical strength during his loan spell at Pride Park, the striker chose the Riverside instead.

“I felt a bit hard done by because last year I think they branded me a bit soft,” he said. “Obviously I had to show them that I’m not a softie.

“Of course it means something when you’re playing against one of your former teams. Even though I tried not to think about it, I didn’t get the best night’s sleep on the night before the game. My tummy was churning with butterflies and stuff, so it was always going to be nice to score against them.”