THEY have previously struggled to beat sides in the wrong half of the Premier League table', but Gary O'Neil feels Saturday's 1-0 win over basement boys Derby County proves Middlesbrough have learned how to deal with the pressures of favouritism.

Having failed to win home games against Sunderland and Reading this season, not to mention the trauma of an FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship strugglers Cardiff City, last weekend's game was hardly a formality, despite Derby's record of just one Premier League victory.

This month's battling 1-1 draw at Arsenal had confirmed Boro's liking for the role of plucky underdogs, but asserting their superior status against supposedly lesser opposition remained a task that had previously proved too much for the Teessiders.

It was hardly the most comprehensive of successes, but Saturday's victory bucked the trend of under-achievement. And with games against Bolton and Sunderland still to come in the final seven matches of the season, it could yet provide the template for further displays of strength.

"It's all very well being able to handle the pressure of playing against an Arsenal or a Manchester United, but you also have to cope with the expectations when you're playing a side everyone expects you to beat," said O'Neil. "It's a different kind of pressure when you're playing against a team like Derby.

"In the past, we haven't necessarily been great at seeing off the Derbys of this world, but we've been trying to work out different ways of coping with the pressure that comes from a game like that.

"It's difficult. The fans expect you to win, and the whole country expects you to pick up three points without breaking sweat.

The best teams take all of that on board then go out and do the business.

"A lot of it comes down to patience and believing in yourself.

If it's 0-0 after half an hour, it's easy to panic and think, We should be winning this game by now'. The secret is to stay calm and have the strength to carry on doing the good things in your game. I think the win against Derby proved that, as a group of players, we're capable of doing that."

With Bolton and Birmingham both failing to record victories, the one-goal win also lifted Boro eight points clear of the relegation zone.

The gap is not yet an unassailable one, but given the number of sides still involved in the relegation battle, it is hard to imagine Boro surrendering their top-flight status if they win one of their remaining seven matches.

Back-to-back games against Chelsea and Manchester United are hardly the ideal way to start that run, but having drawn at both Aston Villa and Arsenal this month, Gareth Southgate's side will travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend in a confident mood.

"If we get another win, or another four or five points, it's going to be difficult for either Bolton or Birmingham to catch us," said O'Neil. "We have a nice little cushion now.

"With so many teams involved in the bottom half you normally get a couple of results go your way, and thankfully that's what happened for us at the weekend. It was a big day at the end of a big week for the club.

"Bolton and B i r m i n g h a m have been cut adrift a little bit. We have a fair gap, but we have some tough games coming up so we can't afford to take anything for granted.

"We need to go to Chelsea and perform with the same spirit and discipline we showed at Villa and Arsenal. If we do that, you never know what might happen."

Southgate is likely to maintain his policy of fielding two attackers at Stamford Bridge, with Tuncay Sanli's recent form making him all but undroppable, despite the presence of record signing Afonso Alves on the bench.

Saturday's strike made it six goals for the season for the Turkey international - enough to make him Boro's joint leading goalscorer - and O'Neil has been impressed with Tuncay's contribution in his first seven months.

"He's scored some important goals," said the former Portsmouth playmaker. "As a midfielder, he's a great player to play with because he pops up in some fantastic positions.

"He gets himself into key areas, and that makes a midfielder's job easier because he's always giving you options."