STEVE McCLAREN last night revealed he is ready to mix youth with experience in a bid to lift Middlesbrough's first major trophy.

Boro head for Second Division Brentford this evening determined to make progress into the third round of the Worthington Cup.

But McClaren has indicated he is willing to put faith in a few of his young guns, as his side kick-off their cup campaign.

Stuart Parnaby, Stewart Downing, Mark Wilson, Andrew Davies, Brian Close and Craig Dove have all been drafted into the squad following impressive displays for the reserves.

But, while eager to hand the promising youngsters a chance, McClaren will also keep his old heads on the pitch.

"We're hoping to bring some of the young lads through and give them a taste," said the Boro boss, who is still without striker Szilard Nemeth tonight.

"And they might be involved in some capacity. You have always got to get a balance and a mixture."

And whoever sees action at Griffin Park, McClaren believes they are all in good shape and will be ready when called upon.

"The reserves finished second or third in the League last year, they are unbeaten this year and they've already beaten Liverpool," he said.

"Steve Round has done an excellent job with the reserves, Dave Parnaby has done a great job with the Academy. He's brought through David Murphy, Parnaby and that's the gauge of success.

"The most important thing within a football club is to have a good youth policy. There's nothing fans like more than seeing young, homegrown talent coming through.

"And it shows what stability that can bring to a football club, plus it's a lot cheaper."

Under McClaren there is a genuine buzz around the Riverside again, as they have hit the dizzy heights of third in the Premiership.

Last year he achieved a respectable top-flight finish for the club and an FA Cup semi-final place in his first season in charge.

And McClaren feels that a good cup run will continue and he is urging his players to push hard in every competition Boro play.

"At the start of the competition you always go into it thinking you can win," said McClaren. "It starts to get exciting near the latter stages, I think that's what happened with the FA Cup last year.

"We scraped through against Wimbledon, there wasn't many fans watching even against Man. United but as soon as we started getting closer to the semi-final the interest really boomed.

"I think that's the same for all cup competitions and you try to progress and you get more excited the more you do progress.

"A good cup run is always good for the club and for the town, we are no different and I see this as an opportunity to do that.

"Winning this trophy or any trophy is a route into Europe, so that is what we have to try to achieve here."

After Saturday's thrilling 3-0 victory at Tottenham, Boro are raising more than few eyebrows as other sides start to sit up and take notice.

But McClaren is trying to keep his players' feet on the ground, with a tricky trip to Wally Downes' Brentford.

And the Riverside boss said: "We always bring them in to train on the Sunday if we have got a game on the Tuesday.

"It was also to try to keep everyone focused. We have achieved nothing yet, although Saturday was a good result to be a part of."

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