ROBBIE Stockdale is convinced the entertainment factor is pulling the Middlesbrough supporters back to the Riverside.

The Scotland full-back has played in every game for Steve McClaren's men this season, as they have forced their way to seventh in the Premiership.

And Stockdale believes that the Boro fans are beginning to see exactly what McClaren is achieving.

"During pre-season you could sense a little excitement with the fans," said Stockdale, who was born in Redcar.

"There were more Boro shirts being worn, I would see them as I was walking around town.

"A lot of my mates are Boro fans and people are getting excited for the games on a Saturday now, whereas a couple of seasons ago, maybe even last year at times, people were a bit more on edge.

"This time you get a good feeling from around the area and that is rubbing off on the players and hopefully we're playing a lot better this year.

"We're attacking a lot more and while it's more entertaining for everyone it is making life more difficult for defenders. But I think it's just a matter of getting the balance right."

Boro travel to Tottenham on Saturday, hoping to exorcise the ghosts that remain from their last away trip - a 2-1 defeat to unfancied Everton.

And, while confident of bringing a result back to the North-East, Stockdale knows White Hart Lane is going to be a difficult hunting ground again.

"Tottenham have been fantastic at times this year," said the 22-year-old.

"By all accounts they were a little unlucky to be beaten at Man United last Saturday, so it will be a tough game for us, it always is when you go down there.

"But we're full of confidence at the moment, we're on a good run and hopefully it will be a good game.

"They have experience throughout the team, but I'm sure they won't relish the prospect of facing our attacking players."

Meanwhile, Boro chief McClaren has praised the way debutant Tony Vidmar filled the breach left by skipper Gareth Southgate against Birmingham last weekend. Southgate, who has returned to training this week after overcoming a back injury, looks like returning against Spurs on Saturday.

And that is likely to mean Vidmar will have to settle for a place on the bench, despite impressing on his first appearance for Boro.

But McClaren said: "It was a pressure for Tony to cope with and he did that.

"It was a blow to be missing our skipper and it was always going to be interesting, but Tony did very, very well.

"Considering we had to re-jig the defence I thought the goalkeeper and the back three were magnificent and I'm pleased for Tony. He won his headers, passed it around and did everything you asked him to do."

* Birmingham midfielder Robbie Savage has lodged an appeal with the Football Association over the £10,000 fine handed out to him for using a referee's toilet last season.

The FA yesterday confirmed Savage intends to fight the penalty given to him by a disciplinary commission earlier this month.

The Wales international was a Leicester player when he went into referee Graham Poll's dressing room before the Premiership encounter with Aston Villa at Filbert Street in April and used the toilet.

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