ABEL XAVIER insists the thousands of Middlesbrough supporters opting to turn their backs on the Riverside Stadium this season have got it wrong by insisting 'we're on the verge of something special.'

Manager Steve McClaren was quick to criticise the stay-away fans after Boro's UEFA Cup first round victory over Greek minnows Xanthi on Thursday night - when just over 14,000 paid to witness the European tie.

It was just the latest in a long line of poor attendances on Teesside and followed last weekend's win over Arsenal - when less than 29,000 watched the game.

The banks of red seats at the Riverside smacked of a club in decline rather than a team with serious aspirations of eventually climbing into the Premiership's top four.

But Xavier, who made his second appearance for the club against Xanthi after signing on deadline day, believes Boro are a team going places and expects to win trophies - with one eye on going all the way in the UEFA Cup this season.

"When I see the facilities at the club, the stadium, the fans and everything else I don't think it would be a surprise to see us win the UEFA Cup within two years," said Xavier, who has played at some of Europe's top clubs including Roma, Galatasaray, Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven.

"The team will improve. There's plenty of work behind the scenes which people don't always realise. That's good for the future. The manager is working well, the chairman is working well and international players want to come here and that means something.

"Middlesbrough have to be consistent to succeed. The most important thing in football is the consistency. In the Premiership you have to find the level of performance that we hit against Arsenal every week.

"I believe we can do something special at Middlesbrough. We have to take things game by game. Be focused and concentrate."

Xavier, born in Mozambique and a Portugal international, has already made an emphatic start to life on Teeeside - helping keep a clean sheet on Thursday and thwarting Arsenal's advances last weekend.

After leaving Liverpool in May, 2003, the 33-year-old has spent two years away from the English league. But, after spells in Turkey and in Italy, he is glad to be back in the Premiership.

And despite his stay in the North-East being in its infancy, Xavier is hoping to stay beyond the one year deal he signed at the end of last month.

"I feel like I have been here a long time and I hope I can stay even longer," he said. "I'm already very happy here. It's been very good for me because I have helped keep two clean sheets in my first two games. That's good for a defender.

"There has been very good team bonding in my short time here and the supporters have been good to me. It can take time to adjust; football in other countries can be different because of the English mentality.

"But I loved my time at Everton and at Liverpool. I'm proud because not so many players have swapped teams. It was a little disappointing the way I left Liverpool. But that was a long time ago.

"I'm now at a new club, new supporters, new team-mates and a new coach. I want to do my best for Middlesbrough."

Had Roma not been banned from buying, selling and renewing contracts because of financial irregularities, Xavier is likely to have remained in the Italian capital where he had an option of a further year.

But he is happy with the way things have turned out and is looking to help Boro climb further up the Premiership table by defeating Wigan at the JJB Stadium tomorrow.

"My intention was always to play in the Premiership but I welcomed the challenge of moving to a big club like Roma in Italy," he said. "But I have always liked the Premiership because it suits my play.

"Middlesbrough are a club with stability, they want to look forward and they are a club who want to achieve things. Sometimes that's better than going to a club with high expectations.

"The club invited me to come here, I spoke with the manager. I got good feedback on the situation. It's important to visit a club and to know what facilities a club has and what the manager is like. It's also good for the club to know about my personality and my character."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.