MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren has warned his side they must get tough to stave off the growing danger of a renewed relegation struggle.

McClaren today hosts West Ham, the club he turned down after Boro chairman Steve Gibson's late intervention lured him to the Riverside instead.

But the former Manchester United No 2 insists he has no regrets about his decision, despite his failure to register a point in four games as Boro boss.

The run has left Boro bottom of the Premiership and McClaren knows the pressure is mounting for the trend to be reversed.

With a trip to third-bottom Leicester looming on Monday, McClaren is desperate to see his side build on Tuesday's 3-1 Worthington Cup win over Northampton with another home victory.

The England coach has been alarmed by the way his players have succumbed to heavy home defeats by Arsenal and Newcastle after having men sent off.

Centre-back Ugo Ehiogu was dismissed in the 4-0 opening-day defeat by Arsenal for denying a goalscoring opportunity, and keeper Mark Schwarzer walked for a similar offence in the 4-1 setback against Newcastle.

"We've lost a bit of discipline late on in games,'' said McClaren. "We need to be tougher mentally and physically. We need to become a hard team to play against and beat.

"We have to show more resolve in situations where things don't favour us - like when going down to ten men.

"We have to make sure we don't go through the same thing that this club did last season.

"But we won't sacrifice our footballing principles. I'm always a positive person and I like my teams to play positively.''

West Ham promoted from within when they appointed former Newcastle skipper Glenn Roeder to succeed sacked Harry Redknapp after McClaren was wooed by Boro.

"I had discussions with West Ham and I was very impressed with them,'' said McClaren. "They have some very good players and it was a big temptation to go there. It was a very difficult decision; it was a very attractive offer from West Ham.

"But I have no regrets about coming here, because I knew what Steve Gibson's plans were. It was an 11th-hour approach from Middlesbrough, but I quickly made my mind up to come here.

"We're planning for the long-term and I've joined a tremendous club. We want to build a base for sustained success and there's no panic just because we've lost our first four games.''

Club record £8m signing Ehiogu is backing McClaren to turn the tide, but is at odds with his boss over Boro's tactical approach and admits panic will set in unless results improve quickly.

"Our confidence has been dented but I believe that Steve McClaren, if he gets his way, won't allow a relegation fight,'' said Ehiogu.

"Everyone is thinking long-term. Once he can bring players in, I'm certain the long-term future will be quite good.

"The League table is not a true reflection and I don't take any notice until after six or seven games.

"But it's true I'll start to worry on Saturday night if we've still got nothing. We've got to get something against West Ham.

"Steve has a certain way he wants us to play but maybe we'll need to change a bit, be a bit more negative, not go forward so much and grind out a result, even if it's 0-0.

"It's true we need to get stronger as a team and maybe one of the ways is to sacrifice a little going forward.

"Refereeing decisions haven't gone our way, but we've got no points and we've got to start getting them by any means necessary - and I mean tactically, not physically.''

McClaren, who revealed he has had numerous messages of support from fellow managers, including his former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as encouraging words from past and present England coaches Bobby Robson and Sven-Goran Eriksson, is still without key striker Alen Boksic.

The Croatian hasn't recovered from the bruised calf he suffered against Arsenal, but McClaren insists he will hand Boksic a starting role at Leicester, providing he proves his fitness.

McClaren said: "We've been missing him and he's desperate to play. The bruising is deep-seated.''

Boro, meanwhile, expect to learn on Monday whether they have been successful in their appeal against the refusal to grant a work permit to South Africa striker Benni McCarthy, who is wanted on loan from Celta Vigo.

Fiorentina defender Tomas Repka has completed his move to West Ham for £5.5m and the Czech international is expected to be available for the game at Middlesbrough.

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