Return ticket to Europe spurs on Boro
Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren insists the lure of returning to the European stage next season is dragging his depleted squad through to the end of the current campaign.
McClaren attracted big names like Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Michael Reiziger and Ray Parlour to the Riverside last summer, all enticed by the prospect of the club’s debut continental venture following their Carling Cup triumph.
However, injuries have taken their toll on Boro, who have taken just seven points from nine league matches since the start of January and now find themselves on the fringes of the UEFA Cup places rather than fighting for a Champions League spot.
Winning the UEFA Cup itself represents one possible return route, although Boro face a difficult task when they take on Sporting Lisbon in the last 16, with the first leg at the Riverside tonight.
“Of course it is our ambition to requalify for Europe and we will not settle for anything less,” McClaren said.
“We are still in a good position to do that.”
