O’Neil desperate to break his Boro duck at Bolton

With first-team captain George Boateng consigned to the substitutes' bench, Boro boss Gareth Southgate turned to O'Neil, who only joined the Teessiders from Portsmouth on August transfer deadline day, when stand-in skipper Jonathan Woodgate failed a fitness test in the build-up to Saturday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham.

The honour is likely to revert to Woodgate when Southgate's side travel to the Reebok Stadium this weekend, but O'Neil is hoping to cushion the blow by finally breaking an unwanted duck.

Since moving to Teesside two months ago, the midfielder's record reads played seven, won none. Armband or no armband, it is a situation he is desperate to address.

"The captaincy meant a lot,"

said O'Neil, who had skippered Portsmouth during his eight seasons at Fratton Park. "It was disappointing to be without Woody, but it was a great honour for me considering I haven't been here for long.

"But what I'm really looking for is a win. Our last win was against Birmingham a couple of days after I signed, but I didn't play. That means I've yet to finish on the winning side for Boro and it's something I want rectified as quickly as possible."

While Middlesbrough have tumbled down the Premier League table in the last two months, O'Neil's performances since completing a £5m switch to the North-East have provided a rare shaft of light.

The former England Under-21 international, who has proved both combative and creative, has provided a welcome balance to Stewart Downing on the left flank and linked effectively with those ahead of him.

He was Southgate's choice as skipper from the moment the extent of Woodgate's injury became clear, and the quality of O'Neil's subsequent performance, in which his enthusiasm and drive helped turn the tide in Boro's favour after the break, justified his manager's faith.

"Gary has been a shining light since he came to the club," said Southgate, in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's game. "I love his attitude to the game and his enthusiasm.

"He has captained his club before, so he has that experience, and I felt he would cope with the responsibility. That was exactly what he did. His energy gives everybody in the stadium a lift."

His energy was insufficient, however, to propel Boro to a third Premier League victory of the season.

Saturday's draw enabled the Teessiders to climb to 16th place in the table, but defeat at Bolton this weekend would still see them plummet to within at least a place of the relegation zone.

At the start of the season, Middlesbrough's players were openly discussing a possible return to Europe and Southgate was espousing the adoption of a cavalier, attacking style. Three months on, however, and circumstances have changed.

"We can't afford to think We're too good to be in this position',"

admitted O'Neil. "The fact is we're in a scrap and we have to accept it. I think we need to win games as ugly as we can.

"In the second half (of last weekend's game), we really got at Spurs. Maybe we didn't play as good a brand of football as we have been, but when we were a little bit more direct, we caused them problems.

"Possibly that's the answer - certainly in the short term. We've played some nice stuff this season, but we haven't got the results.

We have to make ourselves harder to beat. We have to be more nasty."

■ Robert Huth and Emanuel Pogatetz will step up their recovery programme when they turn out for Middlesbrough reserves against Manchester United at the Riverside tonight (7pm).

The centre-half duo will play alongside each other as Steve Agnew's second string attempt to extend their two-point lead at the top of the Premier Reserve League North table.

Teenage duo Ben Hutchinson and Tom Craddock will form the attack as they attempt to press their claim for a starting spot in the senior side, while veteran midfielder Gaizka Mendieta is also included in a 16-man squad.