FRUSTRATED AS Roma boss Luciano Spalletti last night suggested Middlesbrough's chances of gaining the upper-hand in the UEFA Cup last-16 meeting have been given a helping hand by the state of the Riverside Stadium pitch.

The Teesside turf was waterlogged in places as Spalletti arrived at the ground last night and he believes the type of play the drenched conditions will throw up will aid the home side's chances of earning the edge in the first leg.

And the Roma coach, who made a name for himself by working wonders at Udinese, expects Steve McClaren to make sure his wing-men are in full flow against their Italian counterparts.

"I was expecting a better pitch and this will lead to a more physical game," said Spalletti. "It will not be a big advantage for Middlesbrough but they are definitely more used to playing things wide on these sort of pitches.

"Even Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Aiyegbeni Yakubu are physically very strong and can play down both wings. We are aware of the strikers. Steve McClaren has changed the team quite a lot especially for home games, but the concern at the moment is the pitch, it is awful."

Returning Italian international Damiano Tommasi is back in the midfield and expected to start as a replacement for the suspended Daniele De Rossi.

And Tomassi is also concerned by the Riverside surface, but said: "The condition will affect both teams. We would prefer to play in a nice pitch but this is a game of 180 minutes and we have to focus on getting a good result from the first game."

Spalletti insisted his squad did not train at the Riverside last night - European sides normally do before playing there - because of a regular policy and not to avoid McClaren from gaining any hints over team selection.

Roma's record against English teams has not been good in recent times, winning just four from 15 matches in this country - they earned a goalless draw in the UEFA Cup with Newcastle in Sir Bobby Robson's first year in charge.

But Spalletti, whose side sit fourth in Serie A, is only focused on the job at the Riverside, with the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico in six days time.

"Middlesbrough started the year poorly but have improved since getting a few important players back and will make it difficult for us," said Spalletti.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.