McClaren keen to put pen to paper

McClaren has just 15 months remaining on the deal he signed in 2001 and has admitted he is hoping to begin negotiations with chairman Steve Gibson at some stage over the next 'few weeks'.

But the Boro boss, whose name is consistently touted as the next man to take charge of England or Manchester United, carefully avoided putting a timescale on the duration he expects to be in charge at the Riverside Stadium.

He turns 44 next month, is regarded as one of the brightest managerial talents in the country and has never tried to hide his ambition to lead his country at some stage of his career.

For now McClaren, in the frame for vacant jobs at Leeds and Newcastle United in the past, insists there is only one thing driving him on and that is to make sure Boro become a stronger and more successful outfit.

And the Yorkshireman hopes his vision to bring more quality in during the summer will help persuade George Boateng and Bolo Zenden to follow Stewart Downing's lead and pledge their futures to the club.

"I'm not making these plans for nothing. I talked to the chairman a couple of weeks ago about my ambitions and I want to make this club successful. We have one eye on next season," said McClaren, looking to add at least one striker to his ranks with Portsmouth's Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Birmingham's Walter Pandiani two to have attracted his attention.

"If I wasn't ambitious and 100 per cent behind this club I wouldn't be doing that. We have spoken to the chairman over the past few months and we will talk about a new deal in the coming weeks.

"In three or four years this club's core could be made up of homegrown players but that is a long way down the line and no one knows what's going to happen. Whatever happens we have a plan for this football club that's not just for this year but for years after."

Arsenal visit the Riverside this afternoon and, regardless of the finishing position of Boro come May 14, McClaren revealed there is only one list of targets being worked on.

But, although persuading Zenden to sign a new contract is a priority, there is also a strong determination to make sure that new terms with midfielder Boateng are agreed; despite the Dutchman having another year left on his existing deal.

"We saw last week how much we missed George and he is fundamental to this club," said McClaren, who was able to call upon Boateng for the first time this year in the win over Crystal Palace a week ago.

"George enjoys it here and this is the place for him to play football. That is why we want to sit down with him and negotiate a new contract."

Money will be spent in the close-season but McClaren has revealed he is aiming to draft in players within the 24-28 age bracket - believing he already has a squad blessed with experience and youth.

"We are possibly looking at our targets being in a mid-age range and they may cost," said McClaren, who added Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Mark Viduka, Zenden, Michael Reiziger and Ray Parlour to his squad last summer.

"But we needed a squad who could instantly adapt to Europe, we wanted to make an impact so the five signings we made had all played at that level. They gave us the impetus in Europe and we were able to reach the last 16 in our first year. Now we have to sustain that."

One of last summer's buys, Viduka, has been ruled out for the rest of the season with the thigh and hamstring problem that has blighted his first year on Teesside.

But McClaren has played down talk that there is something more sinister behind the striker's problems, insisting it is just the latest in a long line of set-backs the club have suffered since day one of the campaign.

"It's strange because we checked him out before he came from Leeds," said McClaren, who paid Leeds £4.5m for the Aussie's services. "He has always played and scored goals, never had a major injury.

"It's one of those injuries that hasn't come right and it's the first major injury of his career. We have to make sure he is right for next August."

With Joseph Job also missing today with a knee injury Boro could call upon young striker Danny Graham to partner Hasselbaink in attack against Arsenal.

The Gunners, by their standards, have struggled to contend with Chelsea's millions this season and are an unpredictable 13 points behind the Blues with seven games remaining.

A lot of Arsenal's problems have been down to their defence but England centre-back Sol Campbell could make a return from the ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past two months.

And McClaren said: "Sol is a massive player for them. They fell off the pace but a lot of that was because of injuries. You can't lose your best players and Sol is a key player for them."

* Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned his players not to expect another easy ride this weekend when they head to Middlesbrough.

The Gunners barely broke sweat as they disposed of the challenge of Premiership strugglers Norwich 4-1 at Highbury, where Thierry Henry fired in a hat-trick.

Wenger felt his team still had ''plenty in the tank'' should they have needed to raise their game against the Canaries, but accepted his team were never pressed by the top-flight's bottom club.

But he is expecting a more thorough examination today.

''Middlesbrough are the type of team who can go for the fourth Champions League place,'' reflected Wenger.

''They are not so far behind Everton, and at the moment Everton are dropping points so everybody behind them are thinking they can do it.''

Captain Patrick Vieira is set to return to midfield today, after recovering from a back injury which kept him out against Norwich.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.