STEVE McCLAREN last night welcomed a pairing with Swiss outfit Basle in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup by claiming every club left in the competition would have feared facing Middlesbrough.

After dumping out two of the most fancied teams in the previous two rounds - when AS Roma followed Stuttgart out of Europe on Wednesday night - Boro have now been listed as second favourites behind Schalke to actually lift the trophy.

Basle, who finished third in their group behind Roma, have since proven they are no pushovers either having edged out French clubs Monaco and Strasbourg in the knock-out stages.

But, despite their achievements, Christian Gross' side remain outsiders to go all the way and only the Bulgarians of Levski Sofia have longer odds of winning the UEFA Cup.

Boro's memorable night in Rome on Wednesday has got the town contemplating the very real prospect of heading to Eindhoven for the final in May.

And the possibility of a two-legged semi-final with the winners of the Bucharest derby, between Steaua and Rapid, has increased the chances of winning the club's first piece of European silverware.

"Once you reach the quarter-finals you start to smell the final, there is that sense after beating Stuttgart and Roma," said McClaren, whose side travel to St Jakob Park on March 30 before the return leg on Teesside a week later.

"Maybe we will reach the semi-finals but there are still two games between us and that stage. But one thing for sure is that little old Middlesbrough are on the European map, Europe is aware of us and teams will not want to play against us.

"We have missed teams that we wanted to avoid. Teams like Zenit St Petersburg, Schalke and Sevilla. This is a great opportunity to progress into the semis."

The fact such an opportunity is on the horizon is in stark contrast to the way they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa 11 games ago, during which a fan threw his season ticket at the under-fire manager.

Now, with an FA Cup quarter-final duel with Charlton booked in after today's trip to Blackburn in the league, McClaren's stock has risen once again.

And if a trophy of any sort was to arrive at the Riverside this season then, with Sven-Goran Eriksson due to leave his post after the World Cup, the Football Association would certainly take a stronger look towards the Boro boss.

He still refuses to answer questions about the national team job, in light of the way Alan Curbishley was pictured after a meeting with the FA, so does not state whether or not he has been contacted.

But McClaren does insist he was always confident he would be able to turnaround Boro's fortunes after being on the brink of dropping into the bottom three.

"I'm not the bad manager everyone said I was and I'm not that great a manager now we're doing well. You are always somewhere in between," said McClaren. "I know my results and what we have brought over the last five years.

"I'm proud of that as much as I was two months ago when the criticism was flying around.

"We have held our nerve and come through it. We're getting the rewards but we haven't done anything yet. Our ambitions have got to be higher and the UEFA Cup draw has brought us back down to earth, we know it is only an opportunity and not an achievement."

McClaren is unlikely to make as many changes (nine) as he did at Charlton last weekend but is expected to dramatically tinker with the side which played against Roma.

Both Fabio Rochemback and James Morrison are expected to be back after recovering from months on the sidelines.

And McClaren said: "We have played more games than any other team except Liverpool this season and I pick teams that can win games.

"We picked up mental and physical dips on Wednesday and because we have fresh players back there will be changes. It's a great headache to have."

Although he won't admit it, the Premiership has suddenly become a lesser priority for Boro who are 12 points adrift of sixth-placed Blackburn.

Rovers, though, have eyes on the top four and are just a win away from going with level with Tottenham, occupants of the final Champions League place.

But, with the huge number of rising talents at the Riverside, McClaren is not concerned by league placing and feels the club is destined for a bright future regardless.

"Kids like we have don't come around too often in football and we are fortunate so many are from this area," he said. "Kids coming through is great for the dressing room because it saves money and it gives you a great affinity with the fans. They adore the likes of Lee Cattermole and he is only 17."

Teenager Tom Craddock is expected to be the latest product of Boro's youth system to be handed new terms over the next couple of weeks.

The Darlington youngster, a versatile player, is set to be rewarded for the way he has bounced back from a serious shoulder injury that sidelined him a couple of years ago.

And now, it seems, he is to become one of the players expected to join the likes of Andrew Taylor, Matthew Bates and David Wheater on to the first team stage in the not too distant future.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.