MIDDLESBROUGH are not about to give up on promotion this season despite sliding out of the play-off mix in recent weeks, according to the Teesside club's chief executive Neil Bausor.

Boro will head to Molineux on Saturday looking for the victory that could close a five-point gap to the top six and re-ignite an end of season push for the Premier League.

Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray is hoping the international break has been good for his squad and expects to have almost a fully-fit squad available to face Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mowbray - extremely unlikely to make further additions to his squad before the Football window for emergency loans closes on Thursday - needs all the options he can to try to revive his team's fortunes.

After a run of ten defeats from their last 13 Championship fixtures, Middlesbrough are desperate for renewed belief and confidence after a 14-day break since losing 1-0 to Birmingham City at the Riverside Stadium.

And Middlesbrough's chief executive Neil Bausor said: "Planning in football is a challenge and clearly the last few weeks and months have not gone as hoped. They haven't.

"But we are not in the business of giving up hope and we won't. We have got to continue to strive to get in to the top six while it is still there. We have to believe, like the others around us, believe. We will do everything we can to give ourselves a chance."

With Middlesbrough sitting in ninth spot, everyone at the club's Rockliffe Park training base can take a look at the league table and work out that they are among a six-strong group with eyes still on claiming one of the final two play-off spots.

From Nottingham Forest in fifth down to Leeds United in tenth there is unlikely to be any manager seriously ruling out a top six finish - and Bausor thinks everyone at the club is hungry to succeed

He said: "I will always strive to do my best for the club, be that in this league or the Premier League - and we all will here.

"We all want strive to be the best we can be at this football club. We do that every day. Everybody does that. We all want to be as good as we can be so we will keep going this season for as long as it is mathematically possible."

* Sunderland's Under-21s beat their Middlesbrough counterparts 1-0 at the Academy of Light yesterday.

A 38th minute spot-kick from Martin Smith proved the difference in the behind-closed-doors friendly after he had been bundled over in the area by Boro defender Christian Burgess.