McClaren expects more tough times ahead
Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren will allow his players to take nothing for granted after they launched their recovery bid with a narrow FA Cup fourth-round replay victory over Coventry.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s first-half strike was enough to book the Teessiders a fifth-round trip to Preston and bring an end to a difficult few days in the wake of Saturday’s 4-0 humiliation by Aston Villa at the Riverside Stadium.
But having seen his side draw the first game at the Ricoh Arena and then demolish Sunderland 3-0 before capitulating against Villa, McClaren admits there is more work to be done before the corner is turned, with Chelsea due in the north-east at the weekend.
“I thought that last week,” he admitted. “We got a good result against Coventry away, a good performance and result against Sunderland and then went from elation to deflation on Saturday.
“You can’t say: ‘That’s it.’ Each time you get a win, each time you grind something out, you think: ’This could be the start.’
“The good thing is we did it without the likes of (Stewart) Downing and (George) Boateng and (Franck) Queudrue and (Lee) Cattermole, who has done well for us, and those players are coming back.”
