THERE was more than a hint of envy as David O'Leary reflected on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's part in his side's downfall.

Having witnessed Middlesbrough's flying Dutchman help bring an end to Villa's two-game run of success at the Riverside, the Irishman was fulsome in his praise.

As assistant to George Graham at Leeds, O'Leary went on a spying trip to Portugal to see Hasselbaink in action for Boavista and on the back of the performance the Surinam-born striker was brought to West Yorkshire.

He was an instant success, scoring 42 goals for the club in a two-year stint but the relationship came to an end when he left for Atletico Madrid in 1999 and the rest, they say, is history.

"I went one Sunday after a game like this down to Portugal and climbed over a fence and watched him," recollected O'Leary. "George Graham and I looked at each other and said 'we have got to get him'. In the end we bought him for a million quid and sold him for £12m."

In 2000 his price rose even higher when Chelsea snapped him up for £15m. After four successful years at Stamford Bridge, Boro brought Hasselbaink back north on a free in the summer and on Saturday it was his former boss who bore witness to the fact that, despite the intervening years, he has lost none of his class. Oh how O'Leary wished he had someone like Hasselbaink in claret and blue.

"What Middlesbrough have done, with the backing of a great chairman, is they have gone and invested in proven, quality players," he said. "There is no better strikeforce than Viduka and Hasselbaink up front because when you are on the rack individually they can go and make something and that's what Jimmy did in the first half."

Michael Reiziger was another of Boro's quality players who came to the fore on Saturday, scoring his first goal for nine years. Sadly, his biggest fans were not there to see it.

"(Nolberto) Solano's slip made my mind up for me. I saw the space and decided to have a go and finish it off," said the Dutch defender. "I did use to score a lot of penalties but I don't score very many from open play. The worst thing is my parents and girlfriend come to every game and today they weren't here. I will have to phone them and tell them what has happened. I don't think they will believe me. I am taping Match of the Day to prove it."

Reiziger, who spent several weeks on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, said he was glad to be back playing.

"It feels good to be back," he said. "It's not easy when the team is going well to get in but I got my chance. I am happy playing at left back, I played there a lot of times for Barcelona but obviously, I do prefer it on the right.

"It feels very good around here at the moment. I am not a player who spends a lot of time injured. It's just good to be back. Now I am looking for a run until the end of the season. I know I have something to contribute."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.