TWELVE months to the day since Gordon Strachan parted company with Middlesbrough, his successor, Tony Mowbray, has highlighted an even-handed managerial approach as a key factor in the club's dramatic renaissance.

Boro travel to Nottingham Forest this evening hoping to extend a magnificent run of results that has seen them lose just one of their last 23 league games.

The stellar sequence stands in marked contrast to events last October, when five defeats in the space of eight matches resulted in Strachan's departure ahead of a trip to the City Ground.

One of the major criticisms levelled at Strachan was that he was dismissive of players, such as Joe Bennett, Andrew Taylor and Marvin Emnes, who did not suit his preferred style.

Mowbray has always been keen to avoid any direct criticism of his predecessor, but with the mood in the Riverside dressing room having improved dramatically in the last few months, the Boro boss has admitted he makes a point of not favouring some players over others.

"The mental side of things has been important since I came in, and that's applied to the whole group," said Mowbray. "I think Gordon put a lot of stock in the players he brought to the club, and possibly didn't put as much as he could have done in others.

"I'd like to think there's been a lot of goodwill to the whole group since I came in. You win and lose off the back of your squad. At times players find that hard to understand when they're not in the starting team, but ultimately you need to go back to them because you will get injuries and suspensions.

"You need to be able to keep them all on board and treat them well. It's very hard to go back to someone you've totally burnt your bridges with.

"I find it difficult to say this is what we've done different and this is why it's changed around. There's a few different things. There are a few players who, for whatever reason, weren't being given an opportunity in the team. They've come back in and managed to flourish."

Mowbray has also instilled a greater sense of tactical awareness and belief in the players who were involved repeatedly under Strachan.

Defensively, the Teessiders are much harder to break down, as underlined by the concession of just one goal in their last six league matches.

At the other end of the field, they continue to carve out chances, even if Saturday's 1-1 draw with Millwall highlighted a lack of attacking alternatives to Emnes and Scott McDonald.

If anything, though, it is Boro's new-found confidence that is most impressive, and that has contributed to a broader feel-good factor among players and supporters alike.

"Once you break the routine of losing and struggling, the players quickly start to believe they can turn things around," said Mowbray.

"It's a mindset sometimes. If you're not winning and you go behind, psychologically it's very hard to come back to take anything from the game. That's not the case now."

The most remarkable thing about the turnaround is that it has not involved a huge influx of new players.

With chairman Steve Gibson keen to reduce a wage bill that was unsustainable without a Premier League parachute payment, Mowbray's hands have been tied.

He has been forced to pursue loan deals and free transfers, with the latest addition to the camp confirmed yesterday as striker Bartholomew Ogbeche agreed a short-term deal.

Ogbeche, who will not be involved in tonight's squad, is expected to play in a behind-closed-doors reserves game this week, but Mowbray admits he is not the strong, physical striker he had been hoping to sign in the closing stages of the summer transfer window.

"From what I've seen in training, he can score goals," he said. "He's got decent feet, he's an experienced enough player and he knows where the back of the net is.

"He's not someone who's six foot two and is going to be powering headers in, he's a similar type of player to what we've got.

"We've searched long and hard for a footballer who could bring some physicality and size, and knock a few centre-halves over, but we couldn't get one and he doesn't really fit that criteria either.

"Somewhere along the line, when time and money allows, that's something we'll address. But at the moment, we're hoping he'll add something to what we have."

Mowbray will delay naming his starting line-up for tonight's game until he has had an opportunity to assess the knocks that were sustained by a number of his players at the weekend.

However, Jason Steele is expected to continue in goal despite complaining of pain in his fingers in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's draw.

Former Middlesbrough striker Mido has been sentenced to one week's imprisonment in Egypt after taking part in an assault on three students. Mido, who now plays for Egyptian side Zamalek, saw his initial one-month sentence reduced on appeal.