TERRY VENABLES admitted on Saturday night that two days would seem like two weeks as Middlesbrough wait to learn their Premiership fate.

Only an improbable victory by relegation rivals Manchester City at fifth-placed Ipswich tonight can prolong Boro's agony to the final day of the season.

That, thanks to a baffling departure from tradition by the increasingly befuddled FA, is a week on Saturday - seven days after the FA Cup final.

It is the first time in living memory that the showpiece in the football calendar has been scheduled to butt into the League season.

And it is a decision Venables has again branded "appalling'' as he ponders the possibility of not knowing for almost another fortnight whether he has succeeded in guiding Boro to top-flight safety.

As things stand, they may need a point against West Ham at the Riverside to guarantee survival.

Venables was appointed head coach in December when manager Bryan Robson approached him for help to dig Boro out of a relegation hole.

Whether Venables will agree to extend his association with the club, as Boro would like, remains open to debate.

Since he took charge of first-team affairs, Boro have picked up 28 points from 20 games, compared to the miserable 11 from 17 which had left them rooted to the foot of the table.

"We've fought very hard this season and in the next two weeks we'll do a bit of work and give the players a bit of rest as well,'' said Venables.

"I've been on about the two-week gap for ages - I think it's appalling. It's harsh for teams who have to wait. I would like to think it won't happen again.

"But it's going to seem like two weeks in the next 48 hours. We've just got to look at the Man. City result and, worst ways, get a draw against West Ham.''

Venables revealed he was "angry'' at Valley Parade as Boro, who knew victory would clinch safety, produced an anaemic first-half performance against relegated Bradford.

Boro immediately lost impetus when leading 12-goal marksman Alen Boksic was forced off with a hamstring injury and replaced by the lumbering Brian Deane in the 23rd minute.

"Once Boksic went off, everybody had to move up a gear,'' said Venables. "You don't want to hear what I said at half-time.

"But I wasn't the only one, everyone was getting angry because we didn't do ourselves justice. I said we needed to liven ourselves up. We weren't doing well enough and they were causing us problems.

"We had to do something about them, but at the same time put a bigger threat on goal.''

Boro did that, but it wasn't until the introduction of Carlos Marinelli in the 73rd minute that they looked capable of asserting real authority.

The heavy pressure they exerted was in marked contrast to an opening period which saw Bradford take the initiative.

Boro's worst fears were realised in the 38th minute when Jamie Lawrence, an early replacement for the injured Gareth Whalley, was brought down just outside the box.

Although still grounded, Lawrence managed to hook the ball to the unmarked Wayne Jacobs, and while the Boro defence - in anticipation of a free-kick - fatally remained static, the left-back lifted his finish beyond stranded keeper Mark Schwarzer.

"I just couldn't understand how we lost that goal,'' complained Venables.

"Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The players just stopped as if the referee was going to give a free-kick - I don't know what happened.''

Venables was equally bemused early in the second half when referee Graham Barber failed to award Boro a penalty for a blatant handball by Gunnar Halle as he engaged Hamilton Ricard in a chase for possession.

But Bradford old boy Dean Windass, who joined Boro in March in a £1m deal, should have silenced the home fans who booed his every touch when he headed over from a glorious position on the end of Jason Gavin's right-wing cross.

The arrival of Marinelli in place of right-back Gavin made the difference, the Argentinian teenager injecting the verve and invention Boro's attacks had hitherto lacked.

With Karembeu taking over Gavin's role and Marinelli sighting openings, a Boro breakthrough looked likely.

Twice Marinelli threatened before, in the 81st minute, his corner was only partially cleared and Karembeu unleashed a right-foot drive which Venables later likened to "an arrow'' as it thudded into the top corner of the net.

Deane should have removed Boro's drop fears in the dying minutes when he fired wide, but they had to be content with Karembeu's stupendous strike.

The World Cup-winning Frenchman has one week spoken of his desire to move to Paris St. Germain, and the next pledged his commitment to Boro.

At the end of the game he was in too much of a hurry, "trying to catch a plane'', to discuss his future.

If he goes, few fans will mourn his departure.

Signed from Real Madrid for £2.1m last summer, Karembeu has been a major disappointment.

But this wonder goal, his third for the club, could prove to be a priceless legacy.

Venables said: "The feeling in the dressing room was better than it could have been.

"If we hadn't scored we would have been a bit down, but we're on the up.''