AS MIDDLESBROUGH aim to take another step towards the last 32 of the UEFA Cup tonight, Emanuel Pogatetz has insisted there is more to his game than the 'Mad Dog' style for which he is renowned.

Despite only arriving in the summer, the £1.8m buy is a favourite among the squad for his approach to life and the game.

Pogatetz has already picked up four bookings for his new club, the latest of which was for a two-footed lunge on Manchester United's Wayne Rooney on Saturday, and arrived serving a suspension for a misdemeanour before he signed for Boro.

That 24-week ban, for breaking an opponent's leg while on loan at Spartak Moscow, was eventually reduced but he still missed the start of the Premiership season and did not make his first appearance until August 28.

The Austrian full-back is also facing a two-match suspension for being sent off in his country's World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland, when he retaliated after a challenge from midfielder Damien Johnson.

It is a ban that looks like having serious repercussions on his international career, as Austria are the co-hosts hosts for the next European Championships and have no qualifying matches to play.

That means Pogatetz' place in the squad, for what will be Austrian football's finest hour, is in serious doubt as he will miss the first two games of the 2008 competition.

The 22-year-old feels the whole situation is farcical and that there is far more to his game than just being a tough-tackler.

"Being physical is my style. They have a very funny name for me. They call me Mad Dog and they all laugh at me," said Pogatetz, revealing coach Steve Harrison was actually the man to label him with the nickname.

"I think it's because I like to get stuck in. I don't mind. I am a strong tackler and that could have something to do with it, but we have this thing called ProZone (which monitors players' performance) and against United I made 100 per cent of my passes to my team-mates.

"I would like to think passing is a strong part of my game. If you cannot play football you can't play for a club like this."

On the prospect of not playing for his country in the European Championships, he said: "I heard on Wednesday that I have got a two-game ban. I'm very disappointed. I'm not sure that I will be in the squad because there are only three games in the group.

"I want to get it out of my head. The national coach has to look for another player in my position. I will try to appeal now.

"Two games is not a fair decision. It means such a lot to play in the championship at home, but now I'm suspended for a small thing."

Boro boss Steve McClaren, speaking ahead of tonight's Group D tie with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk at the Riverside Stadium, sympathises with the former Grazer AK full-back.

But McClaren admits that Pogatetz must try to cut out some over-exuberance if he is to fulfil his potential, both on Teesside and on the international scene.

"He's a character. He wants to learn and has so much to learn but I've never known a more willing pupil," said McClaren. "He's very intense.

"Against Charlton earlier in the season he went up to winger Dennis Rommedahl and said 'You have me to deal with this half. You won't get a kick'. And he shows that every day in training - he kills half our team."

Dnipro arrive in the North-East suffering from an indifferent campaign domestically, which has resulted in coach Evgeniy Kucherevsky being sacked.

They sit tenth in the Ukraine league, some 23 points behind leaders Shakthar Donetsk, and won for the first time in four games on Saturday under the guidance of caretaker boss Vadim Tischenko, a football gold-medal winner in the 1988 Olympics with Russia.

Pogatetz was with Bayer Leverkusen two years ago when Dnipro went to German club Hamburg and knocked them out of the UEFA Cup.

And he is expecting a similarly tough encounter with Boro tonight, so he is calling for supporters to turn out in force.

"I hope that a lot of fans will come to the game because, like the manager is saying all the time, there are no easy games in Europe," said Pogatetz.

"Dnipro are a good team and I know them from a couple of years ago when they did very well against a German team in this competition. It will be difficult.

"It's a different game to what we have in the Championship, we have a lot of players with the experience and we have to put our strengths into the game."

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