MIDO will be a particularly frustrated spectator at the Riverside this afternoon.

The Egyptian striker, signed from Tottenham for £6m in the summer, will cut a brooding figure on the sidelines as a groin injury prevents him from playing against his former team.

He was desperate to play but manager Gareth Southgate is determined not to jeopardise the player's long-term rehabilitation by rushing his star striker back into action.

"He's been playing with an injury and that can affect people physically and mentally." said Southgate, who regards his record signing as key to Boro's success this season.

"The best thing for him and the team is to get him to full fitness so that he comes in again and has as big an impact as he did when he joined us."

Southgate was in typically honest mood when admitting that his tactical misjudgement was a key factor in their last home game - a defeat to Chelsea.

"We didn't get it right against Chelsea; it was my responsibility the way I set the team up, but this time we have to attack Spurs and put them on the back foot," he said.

Pressure is mounting on a Middlesbrough team still seeking an elusive second home victory this season. But the manager is sticking resolutely to his attacking principles.

"We could shut up and crowd the midfield but I don't think the results would be any better, it hasn't worked very well in the past," said Southgate.

"We have to keep attacking and start scoring. We will get there."

He knows that the character of his squad is being severely tested during this difficult spell and called on the fans to play their part.

"You learn a lot about people in a tough period like this. The young players will be stronger.

Now we have to get the fans going, we need them, it was flat against Chelsea," said the Boro boss.

Today he faces a figure who haunts Middlesbrough's recent past.

Juande Ramos managed the Sevilla side who put four past a Southgate-captained side to end Boro's UEFA Cup dream in 2006.

But the 36-year-old has come to respect the achievements of the Spaniard, who followed Martin Jol into Spurs' hot-seat.

"When you're a player you don't think about the opposition manager really. "But he clearly built a very good team at that point, one that played excellent football," explained Southgate.

"It was one of the bigger disappointments of my career, especially as it turned out to be my last game, though I didn't know it then."

Victory this afternoon over Ramos' Tottenham will start to help Southgate, and the Boro faithful, assuage memories of that painful night in Eindhoven.