STEVE McClaren last night hailed Doriva as the "unsung hero" of Middlesbrough's season and admitted he was finding it very difficult to leave the Brazilian midfielder out of his side.

The Boro boss is expected to ring the changes at West Ham tomorrow, with Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Fabio Rochemback and Franck Queudrue all likely to return to the starting line-up after playing little or no part in Thursday night's UEFA Cup win at Grasshoppers.

While Doriva would normally be one of the favourites to make way, the 33-year-old has emerged as one of Boro's most consistent performers in recent weeks.

His commitment and energy were crucial in the Hardturm Stadium, where his partnership with fellow midfielder George Boateng provided valuable cover for a back four shorn of the suspended Abel Xavier.

Should he retain his place at Upton Park, Doriva will be starting a fifth successive game for the first time in seven months and McClaren feels that would be a just reward for his recent efforts.

"There are certain players you want in your side every game," explained the Middlesbrough manager. "Gareth Southgate is one of those and Doriva, the way he is performing at the moment, is another.

"He's a bit of an unsung hero for us - he does a lot of the spade work in front of the back four and that's very rarely appreciated. If you ask any of the players they will tell you just how valuable he is."

They will also say how important Southgate and Chris Riggott were on Thursday night. The pair were forced to soak up incessant Grasshoppers pressure in the second half but responded with a succession of towering headers and timely interceptions.

Southgate's dominant display was no surprise given the standards he has set since his £6.5m move from Aston Villa in July 2001, while Riggott's impressive showing underlined the progress he has made in the opening months of this season.

The former Derby defender, who missed three months of last season through injury, is finally showing the form that led to predictions of greatness when he moved to the Riverside in January 2003.

"Chris is showing the kind of form that we bought him for," agreed McClaren. "He had potential when we brought him to the club but he's gathering more and more experience now.

"As long as he keeps away from injuries he'll be a very important player to us. He's come in for us at the right time with Ugo (Ehiogu) going out and, as we saw last year, he and Gareth perform very well together. They're doing the same again.

"Gareth is 35 but he keeps performing like we know he can. He's been excellent in the last three games we have played. He was superb against Aston Villa and produced the same kind of performance again on Thursday."

This month's win at Villa Park was Boro's second away success of the season and, while McClaren's side have struggled at the Riverside, their performances on the road have been far more convincing.

Last week's draw with Portsmouth led to a host of negative headlines but, after suffering just one defeat in their last eight games, McClaren argues his side deserve more praise than they are getting.

"You can either be optimistic or you can be pessimistic," he said. "We tend to look at things optimistically and say 'We've had one defeat in eight and our away form is very good'. We've had a good start to the group stage of the UEFA Cup as well.

"That's not hiding the fact that our home form needs to be better but we also know that there's nothing much wrong with us."

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