AIYEGBENI Yakubu has backed Steve McClaren's decision to play him as a solitary striker in Saturday's bore draw with Portsmouth, despite admitting that Middlesbrough improved when re-inforcements arrived after the break.

Despite playing against a Pompey side that had scored just five goals in their opening eight games of the season, McClaren fielded a cautious 4-5-1 formation during the opening 45 minutes at the Riverside.

The resultant lack of goalmouth action saw Boro booed off at the break but, while Gaizka Mendieta was thrown into the fray at the start of the second half, it was another ten minutes before the appearance of Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka partially appeased the fans.

With three strikers on the pitch, the home side finally gained the initiative. But, despite creating a number of opportunities, they were unable to win the game.

Leading the line on his own clearly suited Yakubu as Boro put three past Aston Villa at the start of the month and, with McClaren refusing to abandon the policy, the muscular frontman has defended his manager's actions.

"I don't mind how many we play with as long as we score," said the Nigeria international, who boasts five goals in his last five league games despite Boro's recent struggles.

"When the manager brought the other two strikers on, they looked sharp. But we still only got one goal.

"We will still go to Zurich with a positive attitude though. We want to progress past the group stage in the UEFA Cup and go a long way in this competition.

"If we play the way we did in the second half on Sunday, then I think we will do well."

Boro will kick-off the UEFA Cup group stage on Swiss soil this Thursday and, given their recent form, the Teessiders could well benefit from being away from the Riverside.

Their last four away games have brought two wins and two draws - a stark contrast to what has happened at home, with September's win over Arsenal proving a rare high point amid defeats to Charlton and Sunderland and last weekend's disappointing draw with Portsmouth.

Boro's counter-attacking strength makes them ideally suited to playing on their travels, but Yakubu has admitted his side's home form must improve radically if this season is not to end with a whimper.

"I wish we could win at home," he said. "I don't know why we played the way we did on Saturday.

"The best of us has come away from home this season, but it is not for the want of trying.

"Sometimes you have bad games. That happens in football and all we can do is stay focused and hope the fans stick with us and be patient.

"We're disappointed with what happened on Saturday, but we're already looking to the next game now."

Thursday's trip to the Hardturm Stadium could yet mark Ugo Ehiogu's latest return from injury, after the centre-half resumed full training yesterday.

* Thursday's game with Grasshoppers will be televised live on ITV2 (ko 8pm GMT).

Read more about Middlesbrough here.