STEVE McCLAREN has no intention of quitting Middlesbrough and has taken a temporary vow of silence to prove his contract farce remains a non-issue at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro's supporters have become increasingly frustrated by the manager suggesting he had signed a new four-year contract in November, only for chief executive Keith Lamb to reveal that was not the case on Tuesday night.

The conspiracy theorists have hit overdrive since Lamb told a caller on a radio phone-in there was a 'technical issue' that had resulted in the new deal not being signed.

A factor that has certainly not helped the situation is a position McClaren has been widely tipped for in the past, the England job, will be added to the situations vacant list after this summer's World Cup.

However, a source close to McClaren insists he will not walk out on the club where he has made his name in management, with the Boro boss refusing to comment on the matter until tomorrow lunch-time, when he holds his usual press conference to preview the FA Cup tie with Coventry.

The club and McClaren hope the embarrassing and unnecessary contract situation is something which can be sorted 'with Tipp-ex and a Biro'.

Neither chairman Steve Gibson nor Lamb were available to comment further on the situation last night and a club spokesman explained: "Both Keith and the manager have made it quite clear that they do not regard this as an issue.

"We really have nothing more to say on the matter. It's truly a minor detail and we already all regard this as a done deal."

Nevertheless McClaren's failure to do what he claimed to have done back in November, sign on the dotted line, is something which has infuriated the club's supporters.

Editor of Fly Me To The Moon fanzine, Rob Nichols, has already witnessed the mass numbers of fans demanding answers following a situation that could have been avoided.

Nichols is urging the Boro hierarchy to bring an end to the whole scenario quickly and stop the Teesside outfit from becoming a laughing stock up and down the country.

"Why don't they just get this contract signed, sealed and forgotten about.

"A line needs to be drawn under this once and for all. It's become a joke," said Nichols.

"The main thing for this club, whether people want the manager in charge or they don't, is that nobody involved with Boro wants the club to be relegated.

"Like it or not we are in a relegation fight and the last thing we need are questions about whether or not a contract has been signed by the manager, which was supposed to have been signed months ago.

"I was totally bemused when I heard it. I couldn't quite get my head around it and I am still very, very surprised.

"Judging by the fans' reactions, everybody is gob-smacked. On the website I run it has been flooded by reactions from fans all stunned. They, just like me, can only surmise what has gone on.

"They are probably being truthful in saying that it is only a technicality but that's not the point. There was a press conference held to reveal he had signed the contract until 2009. He never signed it."

The contract farce has arrived at the worst possible time for Boro, who are due to return from a bonding trip to Spain today, where they have been aiming to build spirits after a dreadful run of form.

Fourth-bottom Boro have gone nine matches without a Premiership win and captain Gareth Southgate recently claimed 'certain things weren't right'.

Southgate would not elaborate on those but Lamb has. He said: "I did ask Gareth about that a couple of weeks ago. We talked quite openly about it, he felt that there was a little bit of unrest in the dressing room.

"Not all the players were pulling together, that not all of the players were accepting their share of responsibility for what was happening.

"Gareth had two meetings with the players, one with the senior players and one with the young players, and gave both a different lecture.

"I'm certain he gave the senior players a piece of his mind and told them in no uncertain terms that as captain of the club he expected them all to pull together and start earning their wages."

One of the experienced players to complete a move away from Boro yesterday was striker Szilard Nemeth.

The Slovakian, 28, has moved to French side Strasbourg for a nominal fee and will then be free to talk to other clubs in the summer.

McClaren said "We wish Szil the best of luck in his future career. He was a valuable squad member for me throughout the past four years or so, scoring some vital goals along the way."

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