'A gem. A manager's dream' - Onel in Warnock's good books

Norwich City's on loan wide player Onel Hernandez is a 'gem' for Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock.

The Cuban returned after a thigh injury for Boro's 2-0 Championship win over Peterborough on Saturday.

Hernandez had to deputise in an unaccustomed wing back role but earned lavish praise from Warnock for his display and his impact since arriving in the north-east.

"I thought he was super," he said, quoted on Teesside Live. "The work he put in, dear me. Some of the tackling he did in his own box because I had to ask him to play wing-back.

"I had a laugh with him about it (on Friday), but he’s a gem of a lad. He’s a manager’s dream.

“He does anything I want and just smiles all the time.

"He’s one of them, I remember talking about Tommy Cowan when I was at Huddersfield. When I’d see him in the corridor I’d always smile.

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“Onel reminds me of that. He always makes me smile when I see him. He’s great to have around the place.

"Onel, with a bit of luck, could have scored just before half-time. That summed it up didn’t it? It comes straight back to the goalie on the floor and into his hands.

“But that didn’t stop him and he worked his socks off - they all did.”

Hernandez appeared to be further down the pecking order ahead of City's Premier League return following the summer signings of Milot Rashica and Christos Tzolis.