AS Middlesbrough prepare to head into the second of three semi-final clashes inside seven days, manager Steve McClaren last night hit back at his critics by insisting his record speaks for itself.

The Football Association's five-man committee searching for the next England boss is believed to have arrived at the decision to appoint McClaren when Sven-Goran Eriksson leaves at the end of the World Cup.

That outcome has been rumoured to be on the cards for weeks and has been met by a series of pundits and experts questioning the Middlesbrough manager's credentials.

Former England striker Teddy Sheringham, an admirer of McClaren's talents after working with him at Manchester United, is the latest to have suggested it could be too soon for him to take over, something McClaren would probably accept himself, privately.

But, ahead of tomorrow's FA Cup semi-final meeting with West Ham, the Boro boss disagrees with anyone who says he has not done a good job during his five years on Teesside.

McClaren led the club to its first major trophy in 2004 in the shape of the Carling Cup and guided them to their highest-ever Premiership finish (seventh) last May.

This season, league form has not gone to plan as they sit 14th in the Premiership. Yet Boro are in the semi-finals of two of the world's biggest cup competitions and he could become the first English manager of an English club to win the UEFA Cup since Keith Burkinshaw led Tottenham to glory in 1984.

McClaren said: "My record is there in black and white. You just need to look at the facts. I manage a football team and I am judged on results, end of story."

There is a suggestion the FA will have to come up with a suitable compensation package to pave the way for McClaren, contracted until 2009, to leave his post at the ambitious Premiership outfit.

His expected appointment, ahead of Bolton's Sam Allardyce and Charlton's Alan Curbishley, would also appear to open the door for Martin O'Neill to move in as his replacement, with the Northern Irishman said to be cooling on the idea of taking over at Newcastle.

But McClaren is still in no mood to confirm or deny anything. "It's flattering to hear all the talk but it's only as a result of the success the players are having on the pitch," said McClaren.

"We are a part of that. We are just getting on with our jobs and we have achieved nothing yet.

"That's the message I will keep banging as well. We have two big games coming up and we have achieved nothing until we get over them."

After tomorrow's trip to Villa Park to face West Ham, Middlesbrough then host Steaua Bucharest next Thursday for a second leg that sits on a knife edge after the Romanians' 1-0 first-leg win.

It is for that reason the FA and Boro, if McClaren is the man, would prefer any announcement regarding the manager's position to be delayed until next Friday.

If, as expected, McClaren's name is confirmed, then West Ham striker Sheringham feels it will have arrived prematurely.

The 40-year-old, who was with McClaren at United in 1999 when they won the treble, thinks there will be a time when he should be in charge of his country - just not now.

"It would probably come a bit too soon if it was now," Sheringham told The Northern Echo. "He has still got a bit of learning to do over the next ten years or so.

"Personally I think it's an older man's job so Steve should be just allowed to get on and enjoy his club career. Eventually I could see him get the England job but it should be further down the line.

"Steve is fantastic. I worked with him at Manchester United and with England.

"He certainly knows his stuff and is always looking to improve. He is always looking at the latest technologies available.

"That's what the best managers have to do nowadays and he does. That means the team he is in charge of will always progress."

If he is to leave Boro at the end of the season to take up a full-time post with the FA then McClaren is desperate to ensure he goes out on a high.

The best way of doing that would be to lift at least one piece of silverware, something that could come closer to reality if they were to edge past West Ham.

With Lee Cattermole, Mark Viduka and Chris Riggott all travelling to Birmingham to push their claims for a start, Boro's hopes have been boosted.

"We are trying to deliver a trophy for our supporters," said McClaren. "They are like us, they are not just happy with us getting this far, they want us to get to the final.

"We approach Sunday in a good mood and fresh because we have players coming back. When you get to the semi-final stage it's a feeling of excitement, it's a buzz. It is the final where the fear of failure creeps in. The semi-final is just an opportunity. If we fail and we don't get to the finals then we have to give it our best shot."

Top-scorer Aiyegbeni Yakubu suffered a dead leg in Bucharest on Thursday but is likely to be fit for selection.

But given the way Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Yakubu played together, the likelihood is that Viduka will come in if he is fit.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.