BANIK OSTRAVA boss Frantisek Komnacky wants to put a damper on the party atmosphere at the Riverside Stadium tonight - to strengthen his case for a job on Teesside in the future.

Komnacky arrived in the North-East yesterday with his squad, the Czech Republic champions, who trained at the ground last night ahead of the UEFA Cup clash.

And the venue and area did not go unnoticed on Komnacky, as he paid tribute to Boro boss Steve McClaren for the way he has put the Premiership outfit on the map.

"Middlesbrough seems a lovely place. The ground is very nice and the town is very nice.

"I wish to work at a similar place myself one day," said a diplomatic Komnacky.

"I have great respect for the work he has done and I'm pleased I will meet him. He has done fantastic to make Middlesbrough into a strong side over the past 12 months."

Banik go into tonight's encounter still reeling from losing a Champions League qualifier to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen last month.

There were hopes back in Ostrava that Komnacky's side could build on the momentum of winning their domestic league last season by five points by edging past Leverkusen.

However, the Bundesliga side won 6-2 on aggregate, having beaten Banik 5-0 in the first leg, as the Czechs struggled to come to terms with the loss of star player Marek Heinz in the summer.

Komnacky, who has former Arsenal loan man Michal Papadopulos up front, said: "That was the worst defeat for the club in 20 years.

"It was disappointing, but we have worked hard to get back on track.

"We are now in this competition and we want to do well. First we face Middlesbrough and we have to be prepared to battle.

"We will come here to defend and look to hit them on the break, then attack more when we are at home."

Komnacky, whose side have won just two of their opening five league games, is aware of the threat posed by Middlesbrough, particularly Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka.

He added: "Middlesbrough are doing well.

"I am aware that Middlesbrough play a very high standard of football and are one of the best in the English league.

"I did not want Middlesbrough as an opponent.

"But I can't change the draw and I must accept it. It's certainly a big challenge.

"Middlesbrough have a lot of good players, international players, even in the reserves. We will respect them.

"Hasselbaink and Viduka will be strong against us but they also have players like Zenden and Parlour, all top players.

"We will have to look after them well."

Middlesbrough (possible): Schwarzer; Parnaby, Riggott, Southgate, Queudrue; Nemeth, Parlour, Boateng, Zenden; Viduka, Hasselbaink. Subs: Job, Cooper, Downing, Doriva, Nash.

Banik (possible): Konig; Besta, Hoffman, Danek, Dvornik; Cizek, Latal, Zubek, Lukes; Matusovic, Papadopulos. Subs: Zavadil, Raska, Sloncik, Varadi, Pospech, Magera.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.