Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom took to Twitter to react to his side's 3-0 win over Blackpool at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.

Boro secured their fifth consecutive home win with an emphatic victory over the struggling Seasiders, with Akpom's fine finish opening the scoring in the first half, before the 27-year-old doubled the lead in the 59th minute, finishing a well-worked move after he was set up by Riley McGree.

Paddy McNair added a third in the 70th minute to round off another dominant performance from Michael Carrick's side.

Following that win, 'Boro remain third in the Championship table and they have now closed the gap on second-placed Sheffield United to 10 points after the Blades were held at Rotherham United.

The victory over Mick McCarthy's men was Boro's ninth in their last 11 games as their resurgence under Carrick continues.

Akpom's brace took his tally for the season to 16 league goals, making him the division's top scorer, four ahead of Coventry City's Viktor Gyokeres and Hull City's Oscar Estupinan who both have 12.

After the game, Akpom shared a message with the club's supporters on his Twitter account.

Boro are back in action next Saturday when they make the trip to face 21st-placed Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The verdict

It was another excellent afternoon for Middlesbrough on Saturday.

They comfortably beat an out-of-form Blackpool and truthfully, the margin of victory could have been greater, with Darragh Lenihan hitting the post and Tommy Smith and Riley McGree both being denied by Chris Maxwell.

Boro are beginning to close in on the automatic promotion places and although they are still 10 points behind Sheffield United, they face the Blades at Bramall Lane in just under two weeks time.

No player better epitomises Boro's transformation under Carrick than Akpom as he continues to thrive in the number 10 role he has been deployed in by the 41-year-old and his latest display underlines why he is the second tier's leading marksman.