WHILE Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is displaying commendable loyalty to under-fire manager Steve McClaren, there is only ever so much that a football club can take.

When the crowd is calling for change, fans are throwing their season tickets away in disgust and players are clashing with the public in the car park, the point of no return is close.

If Boro were to fail to beat Championship opponents Coventry tomorrow night, it would surely have been crossed. Given the furious reaction that accompanied Saturday's defeat to Aston Villa, it is hard to imagine McClaren surviving the maelstrom that would follow an even more humiliating reverse tomorrow.

To his enormous credit, Gibson still sees removing his manager as the ultimate last resort. He has proved it in the past - standing by Bryan Robson even as the former Boro boss requested the services of Terry Venables - and underlined his faith in McClaren's abilities when he spoke to a group of disgruntled supporters outside the Riverside on Saturday night.

But, with Boro's fans demanding action, he will find it difficult to do nothing if the season goes from bad to worse this week.

Newcastle's 2-0 victory over Portsmouth underlined the redemptive qualities that can stem from a change in management and, with 18th-placed Birmingham just five points below them, Boro need every helping hand available if they are to successfully avoid the drop.

The key question Gibson must ask himself is 'Would McClaren's dismissal improve the side's fortunes?'

It is not an open and shut case. The Boro boss is awaiting the return of at least four injured players who will surely make a difference.

The absence of both Chris Riggott and Franck Queudrue has undoubtedly unsettled the defence, while winger James Morrison has been missed in attack.

Crucially, George Boateng has also been missing for the best part of two months. Last season, when he returned from long-term injury in April, Boro embarked on a run of just one defeat from their last eight league games. An identical revival this season is unlikely, but there is little doubt that any manager would have suffered from his protracted absence.

Similarly, McClaren can point to a raft of individual errors that have hindered Boro's chances and question quite what he can do to mitigate against such aberrations.

The Teessiders have conceded 44 league goals this season - only one less than basement boys Sunderland - and a fair proportion of those have stemmed from uncharaterstic mistakes from the likes of Gareth Southgate, Mark Schwarzer and Queudrue.

Individual errors are often the result of a deeper-rooted problem, though, and it is here that McClaren's flaws begin to become exposed.

The most damning assessment of his reign came when a typically honest Southgate hinted at a lack of unity in the dressing room.

McClaren sought to play down the significance of his remarks, but claims that the Boro boss had lost the support of his players surfaced again when chief executive Keith Lamb confessed that "not all the players" were "pulling together" during a live radio interview.

Those claims reached a crescendo yesterday when former Boro midfielder Jonathan Greening revealed details of his recent conversations with unnamed members of the current squad.

"I'm not really surprised to see Middlesbrough struggling," said Greening, whose current employers West Brom are a point and a place above Boro in the Premiership table.

"I know a few of the boys are a bit unhappy there with McClaren's way of doing things. I really enjoyed working with him. He is a really good coach, but some coaches don't make good managers."

Only Gibson can decide whether or not McClaren falls into this category.

It is important not to lose sight of the England number two's considerable achievements at the Riverside. He has steered Boro to their first major trophy, their maiden European campaign and their highest Premiership finish.

But, commendable as those successes are, they should not be enough to make him bullet-proof. If McClaren has lost the respect and support of his players, standing by him could have disastrous consequences. Tomorrow's replay, against a Coventry side with nothing to lose, should show just how strained that all-important relationship has become.