THE passion manager Steve McClaren claims lies within his squad, as well as in the stands, was evident in spells as a turbulent five days ended with Middlesbrough booking a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink's ninth goal of the season was enough to end the crisis talk for the time being and see Boro sneak beyond Coventry City, of the Championship, at the second time of asking.

This fourth-round replay may not have pulled in the crowd - a little over 14,000 were there to witness it - but Boro managed to ease the pressure on the shoulders of McClaren by booking a date at Preston a week on Sunday.

With all the talk after Saturday's defeat to Aston Villa, when fans chanted for his sacking, centering on how long McClaren has got to turn things around, Boro's players battled to ensure progress.

It was never fantastic, in fact Coventry were unlucky not to have pulled level, but Boro have started a vital period of their campaign in the best possible manner.

Last night was the start of a crucial 25-day period that could well determine whether or not McClaren's future lies with Boro, regardless of this win.

After Chelsea on Saturday and a two-legged affair with German giants Stuttgart in the UEFA Cup, he leads his squad into two crucial relegation encounters against West Brom and Birmingham City.

And the trip to Deepdale in the next round of the FA Cup will have just as much importance as the rest if McClaren is to keep the fans off his back.

Such was the alarming way Boro collapsed at the hands of Villa on Saturday, McClaren will have been relieved to have been able to call upon two of his 'big players' again.

Chris Riggott's return at the heart of the defence - an area the manager decided to pack in an attempt to cure his side's leaky ways, having conceded 44 times in the league this season - will have come as a relief to those around him, in particular Gareth Southgate, and it showed.

Although Coventry's wingers did enjoy success down the flanks throughout, the central triumvirate successfully managed to halt most threats that came their way.

Boro, desperate to put on a decent showing after one of the darkest days of McClaren's reign on Saturday, may have had a couple of familiar faces back in the fold but the flu-stricken Stewart Downing was a notable absentee.

Nevertheless the injury list is gradually easing and of those that would command first-team places there is only George Boateng and Franck Queudrue still sidelined, with the news encouraging on both their situations.

Those who were on show managed to quickly get any after-effects they may have had from the weekend reversal out of their system, although they did slip back into the comfort zone in the second half. With their first meaningful effort on goal Boro took the lead on 20 minutes.

Hasselbaink, one of the experienced heads McClaren has been demanding more from, highlighted why he deserved to retain his starting place.

The Dutchman, whose strike partner against Villa, Mark Viduka, sat on the bench following the allegations of a clash with disgruntled fans on Saturday, applied the cool finish to Aiyegbeni Yakubu's assist.

Yakubu turned near the half-way line before delightfully placing the perfect through ball for Hasselbaink to run on to. With just goalkeeper Marton Fulop to beat, the striker skipped round him and side-footed into the empty net.

Moments later Hasselbaink could have had a second when his powerful left-foot volley was turned behind for a corner by Fulop as Boro started to resemble a side playing in a league above.

That, apart from one of Gary McShefferey's many darting runs down the left flank, was how things remained until the interval, although Coventry did have one fantastic chance to equalise.

McShefferey skipped passed Riggott before delivering a fine, low delivery into the danger area. Stern John's quick flick forced Mark Schwarzer into a one-handed save and Emanuel Pogatetz somehow slid in to clear five yards out when Dele Adebola looked destined to score.

There was a buoyancy about Coventry after the restart that had been lacking and manager Micky Adams had clearly instructed his men to adopt a more attacking approach. But, despite making the tie more entertaining, that could have been the Sky Blues' downfall within four minutes of the restart.

Andrew Taylor's break forward, after linking well with Fabio Rochemback, led to Yakubu finding space on the left side of the penalty area but Mendieta couldn't convert the Nigerian's pass.

A run down the left from Coventry full-back Marcus Hall eventually resulted in John, the scorer of the equaliser at the Ricoh Stadium, heading wide at the near post with Schwarzer stranded.

Result: Middlesbrough 1, Coventry City 0.

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