Boro's away form this season is as bad as their home form is good. They have won once on their travels in the league but are undefeated at home.

Sports writer Paul Fraser looks at the symptoms of Boro's travel sickness

THERE'S an old adage that suggests there are lies, damn lies and statistics.

And, until last week's defeat at Fulham in front of the Sky cameras, Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren had claimed he was happy with the way his side were performing on their travels.

But when you consider Boro's record away from home this season it has been poor, dreadfully so, in fact:

* No Premiership win since September 28's 3-0 win at Tottenham.

* No top-flight goal since that day in north London.

* It's precisely 12 hours and 32 minutes - over eight games - since they last scored.

* Boro have only found the net four times in the League all season.

Those stats alone are proof why McClaren's men are just five places above the relegation zone, when many had predicted a season of European-chasing football.

But Northern Echo Sport's match ratings add further damning evidence to the mysterious case of Boro's away day blues.

Only Gareth Southgate comes away with any meaningful credit - he is the only player to average 7.00 or more both at home and away.

Centre-back partner Ugo Ehiogu, Geremi, defensive midfielder George Boateng and highly-regarded keeper Mark Schwarzer are marginally better than the rest.

But it is little wonder the backline have received the biggest recognition as, despite their failings, only Blackburn have a better defensive record on their travels.

At Fulham last week, Boro's sixth 1-0 reverse in eight away games, McClaren admitted he had no excuses for a dreadful showing at Loftus Road.

And the Boro chief revealed that he believed the abysmal run has now become a mental factor within his squad.

It remains to be seen whether assistant manager Bill Beswick, regarded as one of the country's top sports psychologists, can get to the bottom of Boro's problem.

At the minute Sherlock Holmes would struggle to solve the away day blues case, nevermind Beswick.

But fortunately for Boro they now have two home games - Aston Villa on Tuesday and Newcastle next Saturday - before their next venture out of the North-East, a trip to Liverpool.

By that time Boro, the only Premiership team to still have an unbeaten home record, could well be back in the top half.

However, if they want to stay there they will have to find a cure for their travel sickness.

And what our ratings show is that the Teessiders' performance last week was just another in a long line of dire showings.

It is in the final third where Boro look to be most out of sorts.

Alen Boksic, Joseph-Desire Job and Szilard Nemeth's records at the Riverside have been good - with all three recording averages of well over 7.00.

But as soon as they step outside of Teesside suddenly they fall to bits, with Boksic (5.75), Job (5.90) and Nemeth (5.71) all struggling to impress.

Record buy Massimo Maccarone, who at least looked a little sharper in the second half at Fulham, has been poor wherever Boro have travelled. But he does do a little more to impress when at the Riverside.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.