Cardiff City boss Steve Morison believes Mark Harris has more to his game this time around and is a better player for the amount of work he puts in behind the scenes.
Harris has had to wait patiently for his opportunity from the start, with Max Watters having started all eight league games up front on his own before Tuesday night's trip to Middlesbrough.
But the Wales striker repaid his manager's faith in him by rifling a ball into the back of the Middlesbrough net early in the first half to double the lead in the 3-2 triumph at the Riverside Stadium.
SIGN UP: Don't Take Me Home - Get the latest Wales football team news sent straight to you
It was Harris' first goal of the campaign and his manager could not have been more delighted for him.
"I was really pleased," Morison said of Harris. "I was more annoyed he missed the back-post header. That was the easy one!
"He has been fantastic, he works his socks off every day, sometimes with no reward.
"Strikers get pigeon-holed with their goals, people don’t really care who works hard or does a job for the team, that’s the life of a forward player. I thought his goal and all-round play were excellent.
"His hold-up play has got better and he’s taking a lot more contact than he used to. He is making much more intelligent runs and there’s definitely a better player this season than what we had previously. That goes down to his effort on the training ground.
"After every game he sends me the clips of his games and we go through them. He wants to learn and he wants to get better. Playing with the likes of Callum (Robinson) will get him better. I think they played really well within that set-up and plan we had for that game.
"I don’t think people can look too much into it and think we are going to play two up front every week. Each game has its down plan and idea.
"Callum’s experience, he organises and he talks loads on the pitch, that would have helped Sparky through the game."
Watters was indeed conspicuous by his absence on Tuesday evening. He has just one goal in 19 Bluebirds appearances and with each passing game, the pressure appeared to ramp up one notch each time.
But Morison believed it was the perfect opportunity to take the striker out of the firing line, and backs him to come back better when he is reintroduced into the fold.
"I just took him out of the squad," Morison said. "We look at the subs, who we would bring on and I said I thought it was a good time to take him out of the spotlight for a minute and I’m sure he will come again."
Harris himself has been labelled an 'impact sub' by many, tending to fare better when brought on for the last half an hour of matches rather than when he starts games.
But, understandably, he is not overly happy with that tag and hopes his goal on Tuesday is the start of changing the narrative around him and his style of play.
"That's what everyone wants to do. Starting a game and getting a goal is the aim for every game," Harris said of his desire to make an impact from the off.
"But if some games I come off the bench and make an impact from there, then so be it. But my aim is to play every game for Cardiff City and score as many goals as I can."
A lot of the transfer talk in the summer swirled around City's pursuit of a striker. That must have been hurtful to a striker who was already in situ. And while he wouldn't admit that per se, he did say it stoked the fire beneath him that little bit more.
"I wouldn't say it hurts. If someone comes in then it's down to you to prove you can still get into the starting XI, still score and still assist," he said.
"Competition for places isn't always bad. It is a big thing someone coming in your position, you might think you won't play, but I think it brings the best out of you.
"If strikers come in, you know you've got to step up, you can't be off your game for one week, because then you're out the team. It helps."
READ NEXT
- Every one of Cardiff City's 17 summer signings rated as star a clear standout and jury out on others
- Middlesbrough 2-3 Cardiff City: First-half blitz sees Bluebirds through after spirited Boro comeback
