AMBITIOUS Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson has told manager Steve McClaren to carry on spending in a bid to establish the club as a top-six force.

Multi-millionaire Gibson's sights are still firmly fixed on European qualification and a major trophy for the first time in Boro's 127-year history.

Gibson loosened the purse strings to allow McClaren to splash out a combined £6.5m on strikers Michael Ricketts and Malcolm Christie just before the transfer window closed a fortnight ago.

With on-loan defender Chris Riggott due to complete a £2m move at the end of the season, McClaren's net transfer outlay in 20 months in charge is set to top £30m.

But Gibson has revealed that Boro have already identified where their squad needs strengthening again.

"Pre-season starts now and we will assess the squad with the arrivals of the new players in the remaining games this season,'' said Gibson. "But we already have a strategy and already think we know where we are short in the squad. We're busy looking for a solution to that.

"Hopefully, when the transfer window reopens, if the right players are there at the right deal in terms of salary and transfer fee, we will go ahead with that.

"We aim to establish ourselves as a top-six club where we are in Europe more often than not and we are picking up a trophy on a consistent basis.

"We have quite a lot of work to do but I believe the infrastructure is now in place.''

Boro have spent around £30m on the development of the Riverside Stadium and their state-of-the-art training complex at Hurworth, and Gibson added: "It is only eight years since we built the stadium and we have since added the training headquarters and the academy.

"The benefits are just coming through. We have to be patient a bit longer, but we are heading in the right direction.

"I know the way we run this club and that is prudently and within our means. As with all things, there is a risk, but it's a calculated risk and a manageable one.''

Gibson, who controls around 95 per cent of the club, has again ruled out any chance of Boro going public.

He said: "Unless you are a club like Manchester United, where the club itself will gain advantage from being a plc, it is not the way to go. It's not the club which gains, but the existing shareholders."

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