MAXIMILIAN Haas has two months in which to persuade Tony Mowbray to extend his Middlesbrough career beyond the end of the season.

Haas signed an initial six-month deal when he left Bayern Munich in January, with the option of a further one-year contract dependent on his performances.

The German has made a solitary eight-minute substitute appearance for the Teessiders, with Mowbray admitting he currently lacks the physicality required to succeed in English football.

And with just 11 games of the season to play, the Boro boss admits the 25-year-old is running out of time to secure a new deal.

"How many games have we got left? Eleven. Well then, he's got 11 games to prove himself," said Mowbray.

"Max is a player who has spent his whole career in German football and, in my opinion, he's not yet ready for the physical demands of the Championship.

"It might sound strange to say that, because I've seen him play for Bayern Munich against a Real Madrid team including Cristiano Ronaldo in pre-season, but the physical demands, rigours and intensity of the Championship are pretty unique.

"At the moment, he's not ready, it's as simple as that. And if he never gets ready, it will be an easy decision to make. If an opportunity comes and he grabs it with both hands, then people will no doubt ask why he hasn't been playing. But at the minute, the simple fact is that he isn't ready to be involved."

Major changes are planned for the summer, with Mowbray under instructions to more than half the existing wage bill of around £20m.

Mikael Tavares will return to Hamburg, with Boro declining the option of turning the midfielder's current loan deal into a permanent transfer, while the chances of Julio Arca signing a new deal are remote.

Midfielder Willo Flood, who has not been involved since the opening day of the season, will not even be offered a new contract after his current deal expires in June.

A number of further departures are expected, although it remains to be seen whether Mowbray can move high earners such as Scott McDonald, Barry Robson, Kevin Thomson and Stephen McManus off the books.

McManus has been sidelined since damaging his ankle ligaments in November's win over Crystal Palace, but will return to the squad for tomorrow's game at Portsmouth.

The Scotland international will not be in the starting line-up at Fratton Park, but could appear as a substitute in the second half.

"Stephen is going to travel with us," said Mowbray. "We don't anticipate him being in the team, but he's been training for three or four days now and it's good to have him back."He's a senior player and it's good to hear his voice. We're keen to get him back in the squad as quickly as we can, so he might well be on the bench.

"He's unlikely to be the only defender on the bench, because if someone was to get injured early, I wouldn't really want him going on. But he might be ready to play 20 minutes or so at the end if required."

McManus' experience has been sorely missed, with Boro fielding a series of youthful back fours following the departure of David Wheater in January.

"I think we've lacked some experienced footballers on the pitch," said Mowbray. "We've generally been a very young group. The strikers have tended to be the older players in the team, but it's harder for a striker to influence his team-mates than it is for a midfielder or a defender.

"At times, strikers have to look after their own jobs. It'll be good to have an experienced player like Stephen back, who can organise the rest of the team from behind and take a wider view of the set up."

Joe Bennett will retain his place in the starting line-up tomorrow, despite chipping a bone in his wrist during Tuesday's much-needed victory over Derby.

"Joe is going to play with a cast on," said Mowbray. "There's a fair chance he might have a cracked bone in his wrist and he's very sore, but he only needs a light plaster cast and that's okay in the rules.

"We'll have a word with the match official, but it'll be under his shirt and it's not really any different to wearing a shin pad on your shin. It'll just be there to protect his wrist."

* In an offer to promote Boro's junior membership initiative, Generation RED, free tickets are available to all supporters aged under-18 for the Championship home game with Watford on Saturday, March 19.

To qualify for free tickets, youngsters need to sign up to Generation RED through the designated website, www.generationred.co.uk.

Members can then print off their personalized voucher from the website and visit a ticket office with an adult season card holder or full-paying adult. A maximum of two Generation RED free ticket vouchers can be produced for every adult Season Card holder or full-paying adult.