How Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren must wish he had Kevin Phillips in his starting line-up this afternoon, rather than against him.

No doubt at St Mary's today McClaren will afford himself the luxury of a closer look at the former Sunderland striker, who could so easily be plying his trade on Teesside, rather than the south coast.

Since signing for Southampton in a cut-price £3.25m deal on the eve of the new Barclaycard season, Phillips has looked back to his prolific best, forming a deadly strike partnership with James Beattie.

The pair have scored all of Southampton's goals this season with Phillips already netting three times for his new club.

Yet after a lacklustre final season with the Black Cats, potential suitors were hardly lining up for the signature of a player who took the Premiership by storm in his first season of top-flight football.

A move to the Riverside looked the most likely.

After all, Phillips was reluctant to move his family away from the North-East and McClaren, despite a battery of forwards at his disposal, was in desperate need of a proven 20-goals-a-season striker.

Even Phillips admitted a move down the A19 would appeal.

Yet Boro's refusal to meet Sunderland's valuation and the fact that the former Manchester United assistant manager would have to offload two of his other strikers, meant a concrete approach never materialised.

It is a decision that could well come back to haunt McClaren.

Indeed, Phillips scoring the winning goal this afternoon would be like emptying a salt-mine on to McClaren's already-wounded pride.

And, as the Boro boss looks set to once again shuffle his striking pair in the hope, rather than expectation, of finding the winning combination, it is a situation far from lost on Boro's disgruntled fans.

McClaren's insistence that the Teesside club could simply not afford to bring a cut-price Kevin Phillips to the Riverside does little to curry favour for a manager who is still no nearer to knowing his best strike partnership despite investing almost £15m in his misfiring forward line.

An if Boro fans needed reminded of that painful fact, Massimo Maccarone moved to the Riverside for £8.15m while, more alarmingly, Michael Ricketts cost £3.5m - £250,000 more than Phillips cost the Saints.

Sunday's far-from-convincing victory over Everton merely provided the Boro manager with a flimsy band-aid to place over a far deeper crisis developing at the Riverside.

Against Second Division Brighton, the Teesside club's lack of movement up front was painfully exposed and but for a flash of quality by second-half substitute Malcolm Christie they could already be out of the Carling Cup - a disaster for a manager who has clearly earmarked the League Cup as a major priority this season.

McClaren was right to strengthen the midfield following the loss of Geremi to Chelski, but to overlook Phillips is a decision that could well backfire badly on the Boro boss.

The odds on Phillips scoring today are 5-4. The odds that a Middlesbrough player will score more than the former Watford centre-forward this season appear much longer.