McClaren insists Boksic staying at the Riverside

The Croatia striker, whose two years on Teesside have been blighted by niggling injuries, is said to be a target for European champions Real Madrid.

It has been suggested that Boro would be willing to let Boksic go on a free transfer to remove the burden of his reputed £60,000-a-week salary.

But McClaren maintains he has had no contact with Real and wants to hold on to 32-year-old Boksic, who he sees as the man to help groom £8.15m record buy Massimo Maccarone.

The Italian will be the junior partner by ten years when he links up with Boksic to form Boro's attacking spearhead for today's first home game of the season against Fulham.

McClaren said: "Alen's not going anywhere. We've had no contact whatsoever with Real. That's the 100th club Alen has been going to join since I came here!

"But he's still here, we're delighted he's a Middlesbrough player and I'm delighted he's playing for us this weekend.

"He came on for the last 20 minutes last week at Southampton and looked sharp.

"He's a world-class player and has a great reputation, so when people are looking for strikers, there is always going to be speculation about Alen.''

Some fans feel that Boro haven't had value for money from Boksic because of his frequent spells on the treatment table.

But McClaren stressed: "I don't think he has anything to prove. He contributed last season and I know he is disappointed when he's injured - he'd like to play every game. We share the frustration with him, as do the fans.

"I know he is looking forward to having a very good season and scoring goals for Middlesbrough.

"He's most definitely part of our long-term plans. His comments last week, in respect of helping Massimo settle in and make his mark, were tremendous.

"I'm confident Massimo will make his mark and there's no reason why he and Alen can't play together.

"But I haven't set my mind on any combination yet.''

Maccarone was forced to toil without reward on his Premiership debut in the goalless encounter with the Saints.

But McClaren said: "We're very pleased with Massimo. He can't speak much English, but he's got by.

"He had a hard time at Southampton in the first half, as did everyone, but he really showed his ability at times in the second half. He's got great talent, but we'll have to be patient with him.

"Who knows? He might explode this weekend and score a couple of goals.''

Boro chairman Steve Gibson has backed McClaren this summer by releasing almost £20m for new players.

Gibson this week demanded a top-half finish as a return on the investment, and McClaren is confident his side can deliver.

He said: "We finished 12th last season, but we haven't set a specific target this time. We just need to progress from the last season. That means 11th would be progression.

"But I think it's fair comment by the chairman. A place in the top ten would be good progress - anything higher would be a bonus.

"But we are as ambitious as anybody and I believe this team can achieve a very high place.''

McClaren's plans were severely disrupted when he lost Brazil star Juninho with a cruciate injury sustained in a pre-season tournament in Italy.

Boro yesterday confirmed that the World Cup winner flies out to the United States tomorrow to prepare for an operation which will be performed by a surgeon who has worked closely with the Brazilian national side.

Boro refused to disclose his identity, but McClaren stressed he was not Colorado-based Richard Steadman, who has operated on Newcastle's Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy as well as the likes of Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

"We've picked out the best,'' insisted McClaren.

"The surgeon has dealt with the Brazilian team before, so Juninho is comfortable with that.

"He hasn't been very pleased lately because he's been hanging around waiting for an operation and he's had to watch everyone else training and being part of the new season.

"But he's been in this sort of situation before and has the character to come through it.''

Juninho is due to undergo "reconstructive surgery'' on his left knee on Tuesday and Boro anticipate his rehabilitation will last "a number of months''.

With left-back David Murphy expected to be out for six weeks with medial ligament damage, Boro have been hit by a new blow following a hamstring injury to striker Szilard Nemeth.

The Slovakian picked up the injury while on international duty against the Czech Republic in midweek.

But Noel Whelan looks to have recovered from an Achilles problem and could be in contention today as Boro face a Fulham side who launched their campaign with a 4-1 home win over Bolton.

McClaren, meanwhile, expects to push through a deal for former Manchester United and Everton winger Jesper Blomqvist when the Swede returns to training on Monday after injury.

In other transfer business, Boro defender Gianluca Festa has moved to Portsmouth on loan as a prelude to a permanent move.

Pompey tied up a last-minute loan deal to enable him to play at Fratton Park this afternoon against Watford, while Phil Stamp travelled to Edinburgh to open negotiations with Hearts.

Fellow midfielder Mark Summerbell has joined Carlisle United on a free and signed a three-year deal.

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