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MIDDLESBROUGH v MANCHESTER UNITED - BORO RELISHING RED DEVILS CLASH
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will look to match the achievement of predecessor Steve McClaren as he heads into FA Cup battle with Manchester United tomorrow.
Current England manager McClaren reached the semi-finals in his first season in charge at the Riverside Stadium, and dumped Sir Alex Ferguson's men out of the competition on the way in the 2001-02 campaign.
That was a remarkable feat for an experienced coach taking his first steps in management, but should Southgate follow suit, a repeat would be even more creditable as he was still a player in the Boro side which went out to West Ham in the last-four last year.
However, United will arrive on Teesside boasting a nine-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premiership table and having already taken three points at the Riverside with a 2-1 win on December 2.
Southgate's men are in good form themselves having lost only once in their last 14 games in all competitions, in large part due to the potency of strike pairing Mark Viduka and Ayegbeni Yakubu.
But the manager knows it will take a monumental effort from his entire team if they are to squeeze past the in-form Red Devils.
He said: "We have got everybody in the team at the moment playing well. Everybody keeps saying how important our strikers are to us - and they are - but we have got other players who are performing outstandingly well.
"We would not be on the run we are having without the team producing.
"It is important we do that this weekend again. You cannot rely on two guys to get you the goals all the time.
"We have won games because people at the back have performed, because some of the boys in midfield have put in outstanding performances.
"We are a collective unit."
Goals from Noel Whelan and substitute Andy Campbell saw off United in the fourth round back in January 2002 to set up a semi-final clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford.
The chance to avenge that defeat, courtesy of Gianluca Festa's own goal, and last season's reverse at the hands of the Hammers will give Boro added motivation, as will the prospect of a return to European football.
That could help Southgate persuade Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate and out-of-contract striker Viduka their futures lie on Teesside, although he knows it would be only one factor.
He said: "It would help. It is an extra carrot for anybody you are trying to keep or players you are trying to bring in.
"But European football can be over very quickly and players will make a decision based not just on one cup competition and your involvement in it, but on whether the general feeling is that the club is progressing, it is ambitious.
"They need to feel they are going to continue to improve in the league and feel it is an environment they can thrive in, play well in and they can enjoy coming to work."
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