STEVE McCLAREN last night defended his decision to start with Middlesbrough's star strikers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka on the bench, writes Paul Fraser.

The 12-goal strikeforce only came on at half-time in the 2-0 defeat to Villarreal as Boro aimed to claw themselves back into the Group E fixture after falling a goal behind.

Middlesbrough, who are staying in Spain until tomorrow, face a trip to Tottenham in the Premiership on Sunday and McClaren believes he was right to play Joseph Job as a lone striker.

"It was not a weakened side, it's a squad game," said McClaren. "I would love to play the same side week in and week out but that's impossible with the number of games we have.

"We decided to play that way in the first half and then go for it by changing it at half-time. We had our moments in he second half but the second goal killed us. I wanted to start the game and keep it tight and then review it.

"It was a poor first goal to concede when the striker (Guayre) was given too much space."

Despite the defeat at the El Madrigal, McClaren's men are still on the verge of qualifying for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Boro, who lost for only the second time in 13 games, welcome Partizan Belgrade to the Riverside for the final game in the group on December 15 knowing a point will see them through.

And McClaren said: "We are not through yet and I'm looking forward to the game with Partizan - we want to win it and get as high as possible.

"We are not pleased with the result or the performance. We knew it would be tough coming here and they gave us a true test for European football."

Skipper Gareth Southgate agreed.

He said: "We will take it hard but we were given an education. That's what European football is about. They are a quality side and they showed that last year by getting to the semi-finals last year."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.