BUOYED by Mark Schwarzer's decision to withdraw his transfer request, an upbeat Steve McClaren has told everyone involved with Middlesbrough to "stop feeling sorry themselves" ahead of this afternoon's crunch Premiership clash with Wigan.
Last weekend's 7-0 defeat at Arsenal sent Boro crashing to within one place of the relegation zone and heightened a sense of crisis that was threatening to break out of control.
Since then, though, the Teessiders have brushed aside Nuneaton to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, welcomed Gareth Southgate, Ray Parlour and Stewart Downing back to full fitness and seen Ugo Ehiogu turn his back on a proposed transfer to West Brom.
Schwarzer's sudden about face is the latest piece of positive news to have emanated from the Boro camp in the last seven days and, after weeks of bemoaning his side's injury problems, McClaren has decided that the time for excuses is over.
Calling for the kind of unity that has been conspicuous by its absence this month, the Boro boss is looking for solutions to his side's present plight rather than sympathy.
"We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves," said McClaren, who is on the verge of waving goodbye to Szilard Nemeth after the striker spent yesterday undergoing a medical in Strasbourg. "That applies to everyone - management, players, fans, staff.
"We have to stop making excuses, because we are the only people who can do something to address the position we find ourselves in. We have to stick together and have a determination and an attitude to get out of this.
"We told ourselves we had to stop moaning about the situation in the wake of what happened at Arsenal. In a couple of months time, I hope to look back on this week and say it was the defining moment in which we turned our season around. It won't be, though, if we continue to feel sorry for ourselves."
Sympathy for Schwarzer has been in short supply recently, with a sizeable proportion of Boro fans ready to draw a line under his nine-year career at the club.
Yesterday's decision to withdraw his transfer request was hardly a massive surprise, but the Australian could still face a fraught few weeks as he attempts to re-ingratiate himself with both his supporters and his manager.
"After a discussion with the manager, I have decided to put everything behind me and withdraw my transfer request," said Schwarzer, who desperately needs regular first-team football to guarantee his place in Australia's starting line-up for this summer's World Cup.
"I want to help Boro climb the table and finish the season on as big a high as possible. The priority is to move away from the relegation positions but we're also still in the UEFA and FA Cups so there is plenty to play for.
"I want to be a part of all that, so I am happy to stay with the club and concentrate on the job in hand."
Schwarzer's original decision to submit a transfer request came in the wake of a number of poor performances that had been criticised by McClaren. The Boro boss was ready to drop the 33-year-old for the FA Cup tie at Nuneaton, an act he carried out after instantly placing Schwarzer on the transfer list.
Brad Jones has hardly proved a reliable replacement, though, and even though McClaren is likely to stand by the younger of his two Australians this afternoon, he is ready to offer an olive branch to his senior stopper.
"Mark has sat down over the last couple of weeks and realised he was a little bit hasty when he made his original decision," said the England number two, who admitted he was "well down the road" towards securing Schwarzer's replacement before yesterday's developments.
"He was disappointed with the performances in the last four or five weeks and I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to that. I said at the time, 'Let the dust settle and I think he will come to realise he was a little bit hasty'. He has realised that and now he wants to come off the transfer list. We're delighted with that because we never wanted to lose him in the first place."
With the spirit of new beginnings running throughout the squad, McClaren is also ready to give Downing his first taste of senior action this season.
The 20-year-old left winger, who played for 65 minutes of last week's reserves game with Sunderland, is expected to start on the bench this afternoon as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee operation.
"I always look at players when they are injured because you can tell what type of character they are by how hard they work to get back fit," said McClaren.
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