JONATHAN WOODGATE is trying to remain positive, and he still is. That has been his outlook since his first day in the job and it remained evident when he sat underneath the West Stand to face the media at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday evening.

He is optimistic things will take a turn for the better, and how they need to because Middlesbrough are in the Championship’s relegation zone for the first time since Christmas 2010 and fears are growing among fans that they will struggle to climb out of it.

Trusting the process and believing things will improve are messages coming from within the dressing room after failing to break down a Fulham team, albeit a decent one by second tier standards, that had played with ten men for 73 minutes after goalkeeper Marek Rodak was sent off.

But even amongst his positive vibes there were hints of growing frustration. Even if Woodgate knew what he was getting himself in for when he agreed to take on the challenge of reviving his hometown team, his squad’s shortcomings are being highlighted more and more.

Middlesbrough, now without a goal in more than four-and-a-half hours of football, could not record a shot on target against a shorthanded Fulham until deep into stoppage-time and even then Paddy McNair’s first time effort rolled straight into the arms of Marcus Bettinelli.

Neither of Woodgate’s strikers, Ashley Fletcher nor Britt Assombalonga, could muster an effort on goal, even though both found themselves in fantastic first half positions when they ended up firing high and wide of the woodwork.

That pair, despite being paired together in attack in a bid to given one another greater confidence and belief, look a million miles away from being a £22m pair. Assombalonga, in particular, looked like he didn’t want the ball at times, such was the level of his own frustrations.

Both forwards are capable of finding the net and their previous campaigns have proven that in Assombalonga’s case he has finished as Middlesbrough’s top scorer for the last two campaigns – and he didn’t even have a manager who rated him last time out.

Woodgate, unlike Tony Pulis, clearly does, and during times of struggle the head coach has little choice but to stick with him.

“We didn't have a striker on the bench so I didn't have any options to change it, it's disappointing but that's how it is,” said Woodgate, who had already introduced Marcus Browne as an attacking midfielder and he has never really been regarded as an out-and-out front-man.

“You have got to sit them down and speak to them but you need to look at yourself as well as a player to find that confidence. If you’ve got a manager backing them, I’m not slating them, I’m backing them because I believe in them, but it’s got to come from yourself at times."

Middlesbrough never looked like improving on the disappointing return of 11 goals in 14 games, making them the second worst scorers in the division right now. An indication of the problems Woodgate is facing is his lack of options to change things.

Two of his best attacking midfielders at Lewis Wing and Paddy McNair. Wing is having to play deeper, having taken over that duty from the more defensively minded Adam Clayton, to try to get things moving quicker, while McNair had to drop in as one of three centre-backs in the absence of the injured Ryan Shotton.

“Ryan’s got a knee injury, I’m not sure how long he’ll be out for,” said Woodgate, worryingly. “I’ve got no one else to put there so I had to take my best midfielder out of that position and put him there.”

Woodgate can’t be blamed for that either. After improvements in performance with a wing-back shape against West Brom and Huddersfield, he would have been a fool to alter that to face Fulham when confidence was hardly brimming through the squad.

The summer’s recruits, all inexperienced at the second tier level, are all struggling to adapt following their moves to Teesside, but how Middlesbrough need Browne, Anfernee Dijksteel and Marc Bola to really make a mark now.

There are still 11 matches to go until the transfer window opens and Middlesbrough need to come up with a way to score more goals to life them out of trouble. Of the 14 matches this season, Middlesbrough have only scored twice in games at Bristol City and Luton and have failed to score in six of them.

Middlesbrough have created chances in the last three matches, but converting them – or even hitting the target at least – is something that has become a major problem and has increased relegation concerns among the supporters.

Woodgate said: “It’s not good at all and I want them to score. I’m pleading for the ball to hit the back of the net but it’s not going in at the minute.

“You’ve got to go back to basics, you’ve got to help them, do it on the training pitch, constant repetition, repetition, repetition and then it will change.

“Ok, the fans got a bit grumpy but for most of the season they have stayed on side with them and they will back them if they start scoring.

“We need that cutting edge. At times we do get chances, over the last three games we've had a lot of chances but we need to start putting them in the back of the net. It doesn't matter whether it's a striker, a right-back, a centre-back or a central midfielder, we have to hit the back of the net.”

Attendances have dropped below the 20,000-mark at the Riverside in a continuing sign of frustration, and Saturday’s failure to take the game to ten-man Fulham did nothing to address the apathetic slump.

When Rodak had been dismissed in the 17th minute for rushing out of his area and appearing to stop Jonny Howson from knocking the ball over him and going clear, following Wing’s clever diagonal pass, there was a lift among the fans hoping they were about to witness a change of fortune.

But Middlesbrough, who had looked under threat on plenty occasions before that, didn’t capitalise. Their play was pedestrian, particularly second half, and the fans let them know by moaning and groaning.

“I get frustrated. They've (players) got to stand up,” said Woodgate. “I've been at stadiums before when fans have got frustrated with me. Do you know who puts that right? Yourself."

Fletcher’s drive over the bar after he was played in by Marcus Tavernier should have at least tested the keeper, while Assombalonga headed over at the back post from Jonny Howson’s delivery.

Those were the best two chances of the game before Wing’s free-kick shaved the post from 25 yards late in the second half and then McNair’s effort was held after the 90 minutes. Had Aleksandar Mitrovic headed in a great chance of his own, Middlesbrough might have even lost.

Woodgate said: “I wanted them to move the ball quickly through the pitch and they were taking time with their passing, they weren't moving it the way I wanted them, from side-to-side quickly and getting balls into the box, that didn't happen. We lacked that creative edge to break them down. From what I saw, I haven't seen the replay, was it a red? I wished he'd stayed on.”