BOLO ZENDEN has no fears about Middlesbrough following the European example set by Liverpool - instead the midfielder chooses to use Scottish champions Rangers as the benchmark for UEFA Cup success.

Two away goals from their third-round first-leg draw with Austrian champions Grazer AK on Thursday has given the Premiership club the advantage in the battle to book a place in the last 16 of the competition.

But Liverpool have already been on the receiving end of a home defeat to Grazer this season and the south-east European outfit are confident of repeating that scoreline on Teesside.

Last August, manager Walter Schachner took his side to Anfield needing to overturn a two-goal lead but could only manage a 1-0 win on Merseyside, courtesy of a Mario Tokic strike.

A similar result at the Riverside Stadium next Thursday will dump Boro out of the competition and Zenden is refusing to countenance talk of such an outcome.

The Dutchman, the scorer of Boro's first in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, would rather complete the job in style, pointing to Rangers' 3-0 win at Ibrox in November over the Red Devils.

"Liverpool was a different match altogether and the circumstances were totally different," said Zenden, amid a free weekend after being knocked out of the FA Cup.

"I prefer to remember the Rangers game, when they were well beaten.

"Grazer are a decent team but we knew that before we had even travelled there.

"We are not going to read the Liverpool result as proof that they will come to our place and win.

"We have to get the balance right and we don't want to be overconfident, we will never be that, that can kill you.

"We don't want to be scared either and we are certainly not that.

"I think it's fair to say we are a very strong side at home - we have only lost twice this season, to Chelsea and Man United.

"I'd fancy our chances against anyone at home and I fancy our chances now.

"I think we did a fantastic job in Austria and we are very much capable of finishing them off at the Riverside.

"Sure we will give them respect but they will give the same to us. We know what they can do but we should not be too wary and I think if we go a goal up at our place that will get the ball rolling and we will go on and win it."

Although Boro are favourites to progress, the tie should already be over after scoring twice away from home on European soil.

But, after Zenden and fellow countryman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink found the net for Steve McClaren's men in Graz, uncharacteristic defensive frailties came to the fore to allow the Austrians in with a chance.

The back four looked nervous at times on a bobbly pitch.

And the freezing conditions which have shrouded the city during the Austrian League's two-month winter break didn't help.

Grazer made the most of some hesitancy in the visitors' backline to earn a draw but Zenden believes it will business as usual again next week, remembering the two clean sheets kept in the past two Premiership games.

"You'd always take a 2-2 draw away from home in Europe and we are no different," said Zenden.

"We were poor in the first half, that's for sure, but we pulled it back after the break and I thought we should haven won it.

"The goals we gave away were very unlike us.

"Our strength is at the back as we do not concede that many goals - in the last two games we have kept two clean sheets.

"We are obviously disappointed because we could have made it much easier for ourselves in the second leg.

"European ties are never meant to be easy and this certainly wasn't. We had watched videos of them beforehand and we still feel we can do the job despite the fact this was not our best defensive performance."

After failing to win any of their league games in January, Boro have gone three matches unbeaten and Zenden is convinced they are beginning to recapture the sort of form that had them pushing for a Champions League place prior to Christmas.

The 28-year-old's own form has been superb this season - since McClaren was forced to draft him into a central role to make room for Stewart Downing on the left - and he now has seven goals to his name.

Zenden said: "We are battling through games at the moment, trying to get the form back that we had.

"If we can get through this tie it will give everyone a massive lift at this stage of the season because it is all about confidence.

"It's coming back but it still isn't there in the same way that it was earlier in the season.

"I'm delighted to have got another goal. I'm always delighted to score and it was a good finish wasn't it."