STEVE McCLAREN is set to turn to his young guns once again in a bid to blow a hole in Chelsea's Premiership title aspirations and rescue what is left of Middlesbrough's tattered tinsel shreds over the festive period.

The Boro boss was already without big guns Mark Viduka, George Boateng, Gaizka Mendieta, Ugo Ehiogu and Chris Riggott, ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge, only to learn yesterday that his squad has been rocked by further injuries.

Colin Cooper, Ray Parlour and Bolo Zenden are all rated doubtful for the journey south after picking up knee injuries against Manchester United on New Year's Day, and Matthew Bates, Danny Graham, David Wheater and James Morrison have all been drafted in to the Boro squad as a precaution. Wheater scored in England U18s 1-0 win over Scotland at Hartlepool's Victoria Park last month.

On paper the Teessiders' voyage to the capital with a depleted squad looks a daunting prospect, but then so did their trip to Old Trafford back in October.

When Middlesbrough made the trek across the Pennines last autumn they were without several key personnel, yet still came away with a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against a side which boasted a £46m strikeforce of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Alan Smith.

McClaren, who saw his side pick up only three points from a possible 12 over the difficult Festive period, believes the draw in Manchester was the turning point of their season and says there is no reason why they can't repeat the feat in London tonight.

He said: "People thought, how many are they going to score past us?

"The performance was magnificent; the result was very good and from then on we had a belief, not from just ourselves, but in the squad and the kids coming through.

"We might have to blood another few youngsters tonight, but after going to Old Trafford and getting a result there, then we can get one anywhere; as long as we are disciplined and have the belief.

"With Mark Viduka injured it gives an opportunity for Szilard Nemeth and Joseph Desire-Job to put a mark or stamp their authority on things.

"We have nothing to lose against Chelsea. We went depleted to Chelsea last season and got a 0-0 result, so we are capable."

After Chelsea's 1-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield, boss Jose Mourinho claimed he had something of an injury crisis himself with only 16 players available for Middlesbrough's visit today.

McClaren quipped: "I saw on Match of the Day that he was struggling with 16 fit players - at a cost of £120m - if that is struggling then that is struggling."

Despite the Boro boss' quip, he believes Chelsea have all the right ingredients to win the Premiership this year.

"He has a fine squad," said McClaren.

"You can pay all the money in the world for players but it does not guarantee you winning a championship.

"At the present moment he has got them playing well with a great spirit and they are favourites to win it.

"I doubted they could win it (Premiership) at the beginning of the season because they weren't scoring and they were just grinding out results. But they've continued defensively, and the clean sheets they've kept is unbelievable, and they've never looked like conceding.

"The key for them was having Arjen Robben and Damien Duff back from injury.

"They are both capable of scoring goals as is Frank Lampard, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Didier Drogba. Then there is John Terry and Lampard, who are the heartbeat of Chelsea.

"They were last season and they've really matured and developed again this season.

"At the moment they are grinding out results without playing particularly well and these are ingredients to winning the title and that slice of luck at the right time."

McClaren admitted he was disappointed with his side's performances over the holiday period but added it was always going to be tough given the injuries they have.

"We knew going away to Birmingham, and having Manchester United and Chelsea over the Christmas period was going to be a tough spell for us, and we're not very healthy at the moment because we have a few injuries," confessed McClaren.

"We knew the Norwich game was going to be vital for us to win and we did that. We don't have a very good record at Birmingham and that continued.

"There have been two performances I have been disappointed with this season and that was against Birmingham and Man Utd. We did not perform to our usual standard, but if we have two more poor performances out of the 30 remaining games, then I'll not be too disappointed.

"Hopefully by the time we play Everton we will have all of the squad - apart from Viduka and Boateng - back fit and healthy. But in the meantime we've got to go to Chelsea, give a performance and get a result."

Liverpool leapt over Boro into fourth position in the Premiership with a 2-1 victory away to Norwich City yesterday.

If the Teessiders are to maintain their impressive first half of the season and claim a Champions League place then new additions to the squad are imperative; given the number of players sidelined through injury.

With the January sales already four days old Boro have yet to bring anyone in, but it is not through lack of trying admitted McClaren.

He said: "A lot of clubs are strengthening at the present moment: Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa in particular.

"If I was sat here with Boateng, Viduka, Riggott, Parnaby, Ehiogu, and Christie all fit, then our squad would have been good enough and that is why where we are in the league.

"But we are short in a few areas and especially in midfield.

"I am looking to bring someone in but they will have to improve our squad and those players are difficult to find at the moment."