MIDDLESBROUGH duo George Boateng and Gareth Southgate have hailed Steve McClaren's 4-5-1 formation, despite the system leaving three strikers kicking their heels.

The Teessiders have enjoyed success this term playing with a lone frontman and packing the midfield.

Their 3-2 victory at Villa Park on Sunday owed much to McClaren's decision to tinker with the hotly debated system, operating Boateng and Doriva as a two-man protective shield in front of the back four.

Fabio Rochemback was given the freedom to support lone striker Yakubu, with both having arguably their best games for Boro.

The only downside to the system is that it leaves three strikers - in this case Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Massimo Maccarone and the injured Mark Viduka - on the sidelines.

But Boateng saw the benefits at first hand against his old club and was quick to extol its virtues.

"It worked well," said Boateng, who scored his first of the season against his old club.

"It was easier for Fabio to attack and get forward knowing he had me and Doriva behind him.

"He was free to play a more attacking role - he was free to play more forward.

"I was happy with the whole performance. Gareth was superb at the back - he's 35 and played two 90-minute games in three days.

"If we play like we did last week against Sunderland we are very far away from being a top six club. If we play like we did on Sunday we are closer."

Southgate also feels the team had a better balance when operating the five-man midfield against Arsenal and at Villa Park.

Boro have enjoyed a fitful start to their campaign at home, and the skipper believes the Teessiders have played their best football this season when the balance of the side has been right.

"There are lots of reasons for our inconsistency and we know what most of them are. That will stay within our ranks, and we will be attempting to put things right.

"I don't think it is the expectation thing, because we have got experienced players.

"Part of it is the balance of the team. When we've played well this season, at home to Arsenal and against Villa, we've had good balance to the side."

Southgate wants the side to banish the memories of this season's home defeats to Sunderland and Charlton by making teams fear coming to the Riverside, admitting the derby defeat still rankles.

"Against Sunderland it was such a horrendous day for us all that we had to start to put the record straight.

"We were all very upset (after Sunderland). At home against our local rivals and we were all sick to the stomach.

"Now we've got to put it right at home. It is no use getting wins away from home and then slipping up at home.

"We've got to make the Riverside a fortress. At the moment we are conceding too many goals at home, and teams are having a good time against us. We've got to put that right."

* Boro have been seeded second for the UEFA Cup group stage draw in Switzerland this morning.

The 40 teams will be drawn into eight groups of five, with each playing two games at home and two away.

They will be selected from five pots of eight, selected on the basis of co-efficients drawn up by UEFA.

On current rankings, Boro are in the second pot along with the likes of Spanish pair Seville and Espanyol, and French duo Marseille and Lens, while Bolton will be in the third pot with Heerenveen, Hamburg, Sampdoria and Red Star Belgrade.

No team can draw another from the same pot, while clubs from the same association cannot meet, meaning the two English sides will be kept apart.

The seedings mean Boro could be paired with Italian giants Roma or French side Monaco, who are both top seeds.

Pool One: CSKA Moscow, AS Roma, VfB Stuttgart (Ger), AS Monaco (Fra), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas (Tur), Alkmaar (Hol)

Pool Two: Sevilla (Spa), Marseille (Fra), PAOK Salonika (Gre), Slavia Prague, Basel (Swi), Middlesbrough (Eng), Espanyol (Spa), Lens (Fra)

Pool Three: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr), Heerenveen (Hol), Dniepropetrovsk (Ukr), Hambourg (Ger), Red Star Belgrade (Ser), Bolton (Eng), Sampdoria (Ita), Palermo (Ita)

Pool Four: Steaua Bucharest, Brondby (Den), Grasshopper Zurich (Swi), Zenit St Petersburg (Rus), Levski Sofia (Bul), Strasbourg (Fra), Rennes (Fra), CSKA Sofia

Pool Five: Vitoria Guimaraes (Por), Litex Lovech (Bul), Halmstad (Swe), Viking Stavanger (Nor), Dinamo Bucharest, Rapid Bucharest, Maccabi Petah-Tikva (Isr), Tromso (Nor)

Matches to be played on 20 October, 3 November, 24 November, 30 November-1 December, 14-15 December

Read more about Middlesbrough here.