MIDDLESBROUGH superfan Bjarte Hartog has set off on a month-long tour of British football grounds which he hopes will include the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Mr Hartog, from Bergen in Norway, will be watching about 20 games in the next few weeks - but he does not yet know if he will make it to the final of the Carling Cup in Cardiff later this month.

The 40-year-old taxi driver, who has supported Boro for 30 years, has not yet been able to secure a ticket to watch his beloved team in their biggest game for years.

He and his brother Kjell were at Boundary Park yesterday, to watch Oldham Athletic take on Grimsby Town, the first game in his whistle-stop tour.

Tomorrow they will be in London to watch Arsenal play Southampton and the following night take in their first Middlesbrough game when Steve McClaren's men visit Manchester United.

Mr Hartog began supporting the Boro in April 1974 when they played his home town team in a friendly.

Although they have visited the country many times, this is the first time a trip has coincided with Middlebrough's appearance in a cup final.

Even if he is unable to get a ticket for the big match, Mr Hartog says he will be cheering on his team against Bolton Wanderers.

He said: "I don't have a ticket yet, but if I do I'll definitely go to the game.

"I'm worried about Bolton because they're a really good team at the moment. If we start scoring goals I think we'll win, but Bolton are probably better than us up front."