THERE are three matches remaining in Middlesbrough's season and barring a dramatic turnaround, they will spend a fifth year outside the Premier League.

What that brings with it is further cuts, with manager Tony Mowbray well aware of an expectancy for the wage bill to be reduced further to bring the club in line with the Financial Fair Play regulations.

Certain contracts expiring will help the cause, with the likes of Julio Arca, Stephen McManus and Nicky Bailey's existing deals all due to come to an end.

But there will also be uncertainty surrounding the futures of other players. Mowbray has already hinted there may have to be player sales to help strengthen his own hand in the transfer market.

And the future of Scott McDonald will inevitably come under question once more, since he is one of the highest paid players at the club and has had to deal with that burden throughout his time at the Riverside Stadium.

"Everyone will ask if I will still be here, " said McDonald, ahead of today's trip to Bolton's Reebok Stadium.

"People will talk, people can say what they want. I am not interested in what anyone says.

"Me, the manager and the club will have a chat and we will take it from there.We will then see what the situation is for every party and what's best for everyone."

When Gordon Strachan persuaded the Australian striker to move from Celtic to Teesside in the summer of 2010 for £3.5m he accepted the challenge in the hope it would lead to a return to the Premier League.

That has not materialised, and with one-year remaining on the deal he signed, McDonald is deeply frustrated by his failure to help the club return to the top flight.

He is well aware of the perception - which he feels is unfair - in certain quarters that his weekly wage weighs heavy on the club, but he insists he will always be fully-committed toMiddlesbrough while he remains on board.

"Of course I want to get to the Premier League, but I'm in norush to get away, " said the club's 12-goal leading scorer.

"That's not me saying I want to get away. Maybe some people would like me to go away!

"Unfairly for me, I have been highlighted a lot. In all due respect, the club has a high wage bill and it is not one individual that makes up a high wage bill. That's fair enough.

"I will keep working hard and doingmy best for the football club which pays my wages. That's all I can do. If I can come off the pitch and know I have given everything then I will be happy."

McDonald has not allowed his workrate to dip during Boro's slump since the turn of the year, even if he has only scored two goals during that 18-match run.

The 29-year-old last found the net at Huddersfield on March 5 and says he has been hurt by the disappointment of dropping out of contention for a promotion place as much as anyone else in the dressing room. Unless there is a miraculous turnaround, which sees Boro overturn a six-point gap to the play-offs with nine points to play for and an inferior goal difference, the Championship beckons again come August.

But McDonald does not think further cuts has to mean the club are unable to bring in some rough diamonds from the lower leagues, like they did with Mustapha Carayol from Bristol Rovers last summer.

McDonald said: "The manager has said there will be changes.

"Maybe there will be players out there who are in his mind and others who are maybe not in his mind.

"There will be cuts for every club this summer because of Financial Fair Play.Why can't clubs like Middlesbrough get players from the lower leagues, though? Sometimes it is about luck as a player and finding a club to give you an opportunity.

"Iwas young when I left Southampton. I made my debut at 18 in the Premier League, thought everything was rosy. The new manager went in andmade different decisions and you have to start again.

"You look for somebody to give you a chance and I got that atMotherwell.When you do well at a lower club, bigger clubs come calling.

"That's what you are looking for as a player down the ladder. Muzzy showed on Tuesday night against Nottingham Forest that you can step up.

"He has the assets and potential to be a top, top player and he has come in from a lower league. There are more like that."

During the run of just three wins from 18 matches there have been plenty of words exchanged in a bid to solve the downturn in fortunes. McDonald thinks the squad remains a strong unit and that in itself bodes well for next season.

"As games go on and you can't take chances and you are conceding goals, it hurts, " he said.

"Pressure builds on you to try to win the game. You get more desperate and make mistakes.

"People say things during hard times, we have all had to be men and take what comes.

There are times when you don't like things, that's human nature.

"At the end of the day, when that happens, you get on with it. There's still a respect there from everyone. That's what the manager wants from his players.

"The break will do us good and it will be time to refresh, come back and get ready to work our socks off.

"I'm sure the manager will have us working hard in preseason and get us ready for next season."