WHEN Steve McClaren promised to bring entertainment back to Middlesbrough matches nobody would quite have guessed that it would be at his own team's expense.

Indeed, after a match which saw Boro comfortably beaten by a Fulham team brimming with ideas, McClaren's election promise appears as accurate as his side's shooting.

A goal as early as the eighth minute by Colin Cooper failed to settle a Boro side desperately low on confidence as Louis Saha, a first half substitute for the injured midfielder Sylvain Legwinski, came off the bench to inspire Fulham to victory.

The change to 4-3-3, made just after the half-hour mark, prompted a revival from Jean Tigana's newly-promoted team. But rather than trade aggressive blows with his Fulham counterpart, McClaren instead opted to swamp the midfield and usher his defence to sit back, thereby handing the home side further attacking initiative.

The appearance of striker Szilard Nemeth in the final 15 minutes brought some resistance from the visitors' profligate attack, but it all proved in vain as Boro slipped to yet another defeat; a result that leaves staring at the very real prospect of a relegation fight come May.

McClaren, however, felt his team deserved something from the match.

He said: "We paid the price for the five minutes of madness towards the end of the first half. That just summed up the game for us.

"We gave away two goals unneccesarily and should have got more from the game.

"I could not have asked for more from players in the second half. They are very disappointed not to have come away with anything."

After suffering a drab goalless draw at Selhurst Park only days before the travelling fans must have feared more capital punishment as they crammed into Craven Cottage.

But their hopes were buoyed by the news that Argentinian wonderkid Carlos Marinelli had been handed a starting place quashing any rumours surrounding his fitness.

The visitors got off to dream start when Hamilton Ricard persistence down the right flank was rewarded with a free-kick.

Seeing the opportunity to get an early break Marinelli floated over a tantalising deep cross that Cooper headed past a stranded van der Sar in the Fulham goal.

However, Boro had a scare minutes later when a header by French midfielder Steed Malbranque put Steve Marlet clear.

But the £11m signing squandered the opportunity; instead firing at Crossley's feet and with the Boro goalkeeper prostrate on the frigid Craven Cottage pitch leading scorer Barry Hayles headed over under pressure from covering defender Gianluca Festa.

The chance sparked the home side into life in search of an equaliser as they incessantly peppered Boro's goal. Bodies were thrown in front of the ball in a vain bid to stem the flow but Fulham's tidy approach and quick strikers caused much consternation for Boro's much-vaunted backline.

With good chances going begging, Tigana, prompted by a convienient back injury to midfielder Legwinski and Boro's seeming reluctance to venture forward, brought Saha into the fray to bolster his flagging attack.

And the move brought instant dividends as the French striker headed home unmarked from close range following Malbranque's teasing free-kick.

But just when McClaren had thought his side had bore the brunt of the worst Fulham could offer, goalscorer Saha then conspired to hand the home side a well-deserved lead just before the break.

The former Newcastle striker's diagonal pass found Hayles in the box, but despite his first touch being far from assured the ball ricocheted off his knee into the path of Marlet, who consequently sidestepped the advancing Crossley and prodded home to make it 2-1.

The goal heralded a host of complaint from outraged Boro players, who felt that the French striker was offside; an assertion dismissed by referee Dean who allowed Marlet's strike to stand.

The second half brought fresh impetus from the home side aided by the intelligent running and thoughtful passing of midfielder Malbranque. The wonderfully-gifted Frenchman served up a Premiership masterclass for Boro's weary defenders as he set up chance after chance for his mis-firing forwards.

First Marlet saw his glancing header drift agonisingly wide from Malbranque's well-crafted centre, then Saha, connecting from a corner, saw his deflected header somehow scrambled off the line by the hard-working Robbie Mustoe.

At the other end, Noel Whelan came close to levelling the scores when he chested down Paul's Ince's lofted through ball and skipped past Fulham's cumbersome captain Andy Melville. But to the horror of the travelling fans, Whelan's goalbound shot deflected off both defender and then goalkeeper before harmlessly rolling out of touch.

But with Saha and Malbranque in the team Fulham always looked assured and capable of taking the game out of Boro's restricted reach.

With the visitors chasing the game and commiting players forward to support their attack Fulham had several opportunities to extend their lead in the dying minutes.

First Malbranque from a quick break was afforded the rich luxury of time and space in the box to finish the job, only for Crossley to deny the French midfielder with a superb save.

And then marauding full-back Steve Finnan drew superlatives with a wonderful run past Cooper, only to find Boro's in-form keeper once again a formidable barrier to goal glory.

Read more about Boro here.