SAVING Middlesbrough from almost certain relegation must now seem like a picnic for Terry Venables compared to his current problems at Elland Road.

When Venables was first charged with the unenviable task of guiding beleaguered Boro to Premiership safety back in December 2000, nobody gave him a prayer.

Despite a lavish summer, bringing in such names as World Cup winner Christian Karembeu, Alen Boksic and Australian captain Paul Okon, Bryan Robson had seen his cash-strapped side flounder to 19th in the table.

But not only did Venables stave off the threat of relegation, he steered the troubled Teessiders to the comfortable position of 14th.

It is with such self-belief that he must now look to revitalise an ailing Leeds side, desperately low on confidence after slipping to their lowest League position for nine years.

Thursday night's disastrous defeat to Malaga, bringing an end to a UEFA Cup run that had done much to distract disgruntled Leeds fans from the tortures of the League, is just the latest spanner thrown in the works.

Leeds have a lengthening injury list, made worse by the news that Michael Bridges is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon against Malaga.

And with the financial situation at best precarious after the free-spending of his predecessor, David O'Leary, the pressure is certainly mounting on Ell Tel.

But as he revealed during his tenure at the Riverside, Venables is a manager who will not back down, however difficult the situation. Only a few weeks into his Riverside reign, Curtis Fleming revealed that behind the cockney charm there was a ruthless streak to Venables.

It is a streak that has already seen fans' favourites Olivier Dacourt, Robbie Keane and David Batty cast aside by the ex-Barcelona boss.

But while such ruthlessness was seen as a welcome antidote to a failing Boro side accustomed to Robson's more relaxed regime, at Elland Road his decisions have seemingly brought yet more discord to an already-divided squad.

Venables' defensive tactics have also done little to endear him to the Leeds faithful.

At the Riverside, expectations were such that a scrappy stalemate was seen as a necessary evil on the way to Premiership safety as Middlesbrough essentially became a side who were difficult to beat.

But for a team harbouring ambitions of Champions' League football such as Leeds, such dour displays are never going to win over a crowd still pining for the glory days of Don Revie and Billy Bremner.

Indeed, supporters' expectations at Elland Road have gone largely unchecked, despite the forced sale of two of their best players in Rio Ferdinand and Keane.

When he first took the reins at Elland Road, Venables could not have imagined how much trouble the club was in.

The signs were already there before he took over in the summer following Leeds' failure to qualify for the Champions League.

A fragmented squad, boardroom unrest, and a tiny transfer budget would test the mettle of any manager in the same position and in many ways Venables' plight has come about largely from the abuses of his predecessor.

However, time is certainly running out and defeat on Monday at Bolton would surely seal his fate. But Venables has worked miracles before, and I wouldn't bet against him doing it again.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.