TONY MOWBRAY is literally sweating on the availability of a key member of the dressing room as Middlesbrough look to extend their winning run to seven matches at the City Ground tonight.

But as well as hoping skipper Jonathan Woodgate is deemed fit enough to start, the Boro boss' biggest concern is whether or not he will be in a fit state to travel to Nottingham Forest with the squad himself.

Mowbray has been forced to miss the last two days training at the club's Rockliffe Park training headquarters after coming down with a virus and club doctor Brian Blacklidge advised him to stay away to prevent it spreading.

In the absence of the manager, first team coach Mark Proctor was on hand to preview tonight's trip to Forest and is fully expecting Mowbray to be sat alongside him in the dug-out tonight.

Proctor said: "He came in (Monday) and seen the doctor to see if there's anything he can take for a virus. He wanted to stay away from the lads so it didn't spread. He will come in on Tuesday to travel to the Forest game, he will be fine, I'm sure."

Mowbray will be keen to ensure preparations are not affected too much as he looks to maintain an impressive run of six successive victories which have lifted Middlesbrough up to level on points at the top of the Championship.

In their attempts to do that they are hoping Woodgate, whose hamstring problems have to be treated carefully and assessed game-by-game, will show no signs of stiffness before setting off down the A1.

"We are in a period of seven games in 21 days, so they are coming thick and fast," said Proctor, knowing Middlesbrough then face Sheffield Wednesday at the Riverside on Friday night.

"I don't think we will rest him if he is fit. If he is fit he plays. He trained this morning, he is fine. He does find playing Saturday and midweek difficult. If he isn't fit then we will utilise the squad."

If Middlesbrough can make it seven wins in a row - and seven consecutive away from home too - then they are likely to find themselves sitting in first place ahead of the visit of the Owls on Friday.

Middlesbrough are offering cut-price tickets for that meeting so Proctor admits their hopes of a 20,000-plus crowd will be boosted by a triumph tonight.

He said: "If we managed to continue from Saturday and get a result at Forest to take seven unbeaten games in to the Sheffield Wednesday game then I think it gives the fans extra incentive to support the team. If we are successful on Tuesday then the fans could think we need to get behind this team, something is happening."

Proctor spent two years as a Forest player under Brian Clough during 1981-83 and has some long-standing memories - even if it was not a particularly productive spell for him personally.

"I look back on those days with great fondness because it is nice to say I worked with one of the greats," he said. "I was 20 at the time, a young lad, and Cloughie was a bit too abrasive for me when I probably needed an arm around me.

"One memory from that time was during an indifferent spell, we were not top of the league, we were sixth in the first division or whatever and he was getting a tough time.

"This one day - when the team-sheet of 12 names would normally go up the day before the game - there was a squad of 24 players that went up. We all looked at each other and thought 'what's going on here, there's 24 names'.

"We used to report to a big, posh hotel in those days and we would get a big fat steak for pre-match meal. Anyway all 24 turned up for our steak and we were sat around the table. Then Clough and (Peter) Taylor walked in and behind them was a waitress with a massive platter of chips.

"Clough stood up, while everyone else around was sat down, and started to point his finger saying 'you can have chips, you can have chips, you can have chips ...' to all the players who weren't playing! That's how he told us the team.

"That's true. It was brilliant. I got a big plate of chips and ketchup that day - I was dropped! You never got chips - even in the 80s pre-match."