GEORGE Boateng is hoping Middlesbrough can use West Ham's blueprint for away-day success to claim all three points at Birmingham today.

Saturday's success at the Riverside made it five wins on their travels in the Premier League this season for the Hammers, and the Boro skipper has highlighted the work-rate of the East Londoners as the key to their victory.

Boateng believes the defeat at home to Alan Curbishley's side can be used to the Teessiders' advantage as a reality check following a threegame unbeaten run that pulled them clear of the bottom-three.

"I said to the players after the game that maybe this defeat is for the best.

"It might have brought us back down to earth a little,"

said Boateng, who is available today but will be suspended for Saturday's trip to Portsmouth following his fifth yellow card.

"We were on cloud nine and we have played good football recently.

"It was a West Ham team who were prepared to graft and the way they play away from home was good - it was exactly the way we should do it.

"Usually if you lose you have to wait a week, but on this occasion I am happy because we only had a couple of days to get over it. When you win you want a week off so you can enjoy it.

"We have to beat Birmingham because if we do that we can travel to Portsmouth in a great frame.

The next game is so important.''

"If we win the confidence will be back and we will be happy to go to Portsmouth.

"If we beat Birmingham we don't have to win at Portsmouth.

We would be happy with a draw.

We need three points at St Andrew's and that's what we will be going for."

Boateng was happy to see Birmingham lose at Bolton on Saturday, and believes the pressure will all be on Alex McLeish's side to perform in front of their home crowd this afternoon.

Middlesbrough produced one of their best performances of the season in a 2-0 win at home to the Blues - then managed by Steve Bruce - back in September and can see the home side struggling to break down a resolute Boro rearguard today.

"I am happy Birmingham City lost because their confidence will not be much better than ours," said 32-year-old Boateng.

"It is the team that wants it the most at St Andrew's who will win the game.

"Birmingham City will know they need to beat us at home if they hope to survive, but we should put the same effort in and the same style of play that West Ham did against us.

"It was a very comfortable win for us earlier in the season against Blues. When I spoke to Steve Bruce after the game he said it was one of the only games they did not compete in.

"They have a new manager so they will be hungry, but overall we have a better cutting edge. We have to be solid and not concede.

In the last few weeks we haven't given away easy goals and we have to carry on with that."