DUTCH star Bolo Zenden refuses to admit to any pangs of regret after swapping Champions League adventures with Chelsea for a potential relegation dogfight at Middlesbrough.

Zenden, who joined Boro on a season-long loan almost three weeks ago, makes his home debut on Sunday against Everton as Steve McClaren's side desperately seek their first win this term. Crowd favourite Juninho could be the most high-profile casualty as McClaren warns of a shake-up following a dismal return of one point from the opening five games.

While Boro languish in second bottom spot, Chelsea are threatening to challenge the Premiership duopoly of Manchester United and Arsenal thanks to Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich's £100m-plus investment in new players at Stamford Bridge.

Holland winger Zenden found himself out in the cold as a result, but after seeing Chelsea launch their Champions League campaign with victory away to Sparta Prague, he maintained: "At the moment I'm at Middlesbrough, so I'm more concerned about our game on Sunday than I am about what is happening in London.

"Of course, I have friends there and I was very pleased with the result. Winning away from home is the best possible start you can get.''

Boro chairman Steve Gibson yesterday described the arrival of Abramovich at Chelsea as a "giant soap opera'' - but "great fun''. Gibson said: "I think it has freshened up the game. We've probably had only two title contenders for too long. All of a sudden, it's three.

"Some clubs have sat back in glorious isolation, given their resources. But this guy has come in and shaken it up - it's one giant soap opera and it's great fun.''

Of greater concern to Gibson is Boro's abysmal start. Zenden, who made his debut in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Bolton, is convinced that belief is the key to a Riverside revival.

He said: "The most important thing is to get points now. We know the situation and it's a bit difficult at the moment.

"I can't say we should worry already, but we have to realise the position we're in and get out of it as soon as possible.

"We're training well and everybody is confident. We believe in ourselves and we believe in our fans, and we believe as a group that we can do it. That's the most important thing.

"You can see the quality is there and we just have to make sure it comes out in games.

"We have to keep working to get that bit of luck. If we can get it, then we can turn things around.''

Manager McClaren, however, reckons the problem runs deeper and snapped: "Enough's enough.

"Our pride is hurt - my pride is hurt after the start we've made - and it's time to put things right, and get back to basics.

"I've got some very tough decisions to make and those decisions may not be popular.

"The players, the fans and the staff might not always be happy with them, but that's my job.

"We're thinking about it day and night to turn it around. Ultimate responsibility rests solely on my shoulders and I have no problem with that.

"But each individual has to accept responsibility and make sure they're playing on Sunday. If they aren't, then they have to work hard to get back in. We're looking for the players to prove people wrong. We've done it before and we'd love to do it again.''

Read more about Middlesbrough here.