SZILARD Nemeth has given Boro boss Steve McClaren a major selection headache as he prepares to name his side for this afternoon's trip to Charlton.

The Slovakian striker has not started a game for the first team since featuring in the 3-3 draw with Leicester in mid-January.

But, after coming off the bench to score in each of Boro's last two games, McClaren could opt to throw him into the fray at the Valley.

Nemeth's six league goals mean he is second only to Juninho in the scoring stakes this season and, with Joseph-Desire Job failing to fire in recent weeks, McClaren admits to having a tough choice to make.

"Nemeth's certainly got a chance of starting," he said. "The reaction from both him and (Massimo) Maccarone has been very good. They weren't involved in the cup final, but their displays against Birmingham and Spurs have been excellent.

"They've been professional and all the strikers are chipping in with goals now so the competition's back there."

McClaren's other selection dilemma comes at right back where Stuart Parnaby and Andrew Davies will battle it out for the right to replace the suspended Danny Mills.

Tuesday night's 1-0 win over Spurs took Boro to the 34-point mark and, with 27 games gone, that equals their best ever tally at this stage of a Premiership season.

The Carling Cup success has been consigned to the memory banks as McClaren tries to focus on the league and, with opponents Charlton six points ahead of the Teessiders, the Boro boss has told his players to look to south London for inspiration.

"Charlton are really excelling in the Premiership this season," said McClaren.

"I've got every respect for Charlton as a club, and every respect for Alan Curbishley and what he's achieved there.

"I think it's tremendous and, outside the top five, it just shows that the gap isn't too big. It's a very competitive league and anybody can compete in it."

Boro's Hartlepool-born duo David Murphy and Craig Dove have joined Barnsley and Wimbledon respectively.

Murphy, a left back, is with the Tykes for a month and goes straight into the team to face Sheffield Wednesday today. Striker Dove, meanwhile, has two games in which to impress Dons manager Stuart Murdoch.

l Charlton's free-kick specialist Claus Jensen admits he will never bend it like Beckham but still hopes his dead-ball expertise will kick-start a renewed push for European qualification.

Instead of trying to copy Real Madrid's England captain, the Danish international midfielder tries to follow the Italian route when it comes to turning free-kicks into goals.

''David Beckham's technique is quite unique,'' said Jensen, who demonstrated his own ability in Charlton's 2-1 defeat by Arsenal last week.

''I think it is very hard to try and copy the way that he does it. He is very unique in the way he kicks the ball. The way players like Gianfranco Zola and the other Italians do free-kicks is what I have grown up with -- and that is the way I try to take free-kicks.''

Jensen's immediate aim is to stay on target when sixth-placed Charlton, take on Boro.

''I would like to be scoring more,'' admitted Jensen. ''I haven't really got as many as I wanted in England but this year I have had a couple and it's nice.

''We don't tend to get too many free-kicks around the box but it's good when you get the chances and manage to score from them.''

Read more about Middlesbrough here.