FROM Middlesbrough hero to zero and back again, Juninho is using the chastening experience of being dropped to spur him on to greater things.

When Steve McClaren was looking for a scapegoat for Middlesbrough's disastrous start to the season, he took the dramatic step of axing the Riverside's most popular player.

For six consecutive Premiership games, Juninho was left fidgeting on the bench as Boro hauled themselves out of the relegation zone.

It was a new and wholly unpleasant position for Juninho to find himself in, but instead of moping he applied himself and worked his way back into the team.

McClaren has praised the World Cup winner's approach when he was out of favour and he announced his return with a decisive display in the win at Aston Villa.

At a club where Juninho has seen other big names cause a welter of off-the-field problems, he was determined not to go down the same path.

He said: "I didn't want to be a problem player like you see around the world, even though I found it hard because I haven't been in that position for a long time.

"I didn't think I deserved to be left out, but if I'd had a bad attitude I would have gone against the manager - and the manager's opinion always wins the day.

"You have to think about the team; you have to give them support. If victories come, it will be good for you, even if you're not in the side.

"I didn't think I'd be out for long, and I had to continue to stay fit and then show my quality when I got the opportunity.

"Sometimes you learn when bad things happen to you. You have to be strong, and I think it's helped me.

"I hope at the end of the season that I'll look back and be proud of my attitude at the beginning of the season.

"I don't want to be a hero just because I was in the team when we got to two Cup finals and lost them; I want to be a hero when we get into Europe or win a Cup."

Juninho has returned to a Boro line-up that has been enriched by the sparkling talents of Gaizka Mendieta and Boudewijn Zenden.

The two loan signings have galvanised Boro after their woeful start to the season and they have combined well with Juninho in the club's last two wins. Juninho is clearly relieved that some of the pressure to provide Middlesbrough's cutting edge has been lifted from his shoulders.

He said: "It's always good when you play beside players who know how to play.

"Sometimes, I know where I want to play the ball before I've received it. When you have players who can understand that, it gives you an advantage.

"I have that relationship with Mendieta and Zenden, and the system we played at Aston Villa allowed them to get forward a lot to help the attack.

"At Villa, when I had the ball I always had the option to pass to Mendieta, Zenden or Michael Ricketts.

"Before then, when I was playing behind one striker I only had one option to play the ball forward to."

Although he is now more content with life at Middlesbrough, 30-year-old Juninho is refusing to get complacent.

He knows defeat to Liverpool today would undo much of the good work that has banished fears of a long, hard winter fighting relegation.

"Things are going well now, but we have to keep improving. We can't just play well for two or three games and then lose a couple," Juninho added.

"We have to continue our run of good form if we want to get into Europe."

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