MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren will continue to stand by under-fire star striker Alen Boksic when they make the trip to Arsenal tomorrow

Boro have lost their last three games to Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool - teams in the top six - and have been unable to find the net in any of them.

McClaren has tried Hamilton Ricard, Noel Whelan, Szilard Nemeth and Andy Campbell up front alongside Boksic during a barren spell which has seen them score one in six Premiership matches - a far cry from the 5-1 victory over Derby County on November 3.

All of the tested forwards have been unable to bring to an end the goal drought and supporters at the Riverside are beginning to turn on top-scorer Boksic.

The Croatian, crowned the club's Footballer of the Year last season, has scored six goals during the current campaign but Boro are in desperate need of more from the former Lazio man. On form McClaren knows the 31-year-old is a fantastic asset and the former Man United No 2 is keeping his fingers crossed that he will soon recapture his old goalscoring ways.

And the Boro chief hinted that, despite taking the former Lazio man off after 81 minutes in the crushing 3-0 defeat to Newcastle on Boxing Day, Boksic will be included against second-placed Arsenal.

"We took Alen off because once we were 2-0 down we had to look forward to Arsenal and making sure the players who needed saving for that game were saved. Alen and Carlos Marinelli were two of those," he said.

And McClaren, whose side are just three points clear of the relegation zone after just one win in six matches, knows how important it is for his players to regain their confidence in front of goal.

"If you play any good team that scores goals then you have to take the pressure off by scoring because you know they are always likely to stick one in the back of the net," he said.

"Unfortunately we don't look like doing that and it's adding the pressure on to the defensive side of the team and trying to keep clean sheets.

"You only win football matches if you score goals but at the moment I'm not worried about it.

"We have got the players capable of scoring but we are just hitting one of those spells where individually and collectively we are not scoring and taking the pressure off the defenders, and eventually you are going to get caught out as we did against Newcastle."

Meanwhile, striker Joseph-Desire Job is expected to join French club Metz some time today.

The Cameroon international has not figured for Boro since the 2-0 defeat at Everton on August 25 and has become surplus to McClaren's needs.

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