SCOTT McDonald has dismissed suggestions that Middlesbrough lack the physical capability required to compete with some of the more muscular teams at the top of the Championship table.
Boro suffered their first home defeat of the season on Tuesday to a West Ham side that was packed with physically imposing players.
The likes of Abdoulaye Faye, Papa Bouba Diop and Carlton Cole all played an influential role at the Riverside, and while league leaders Southampton have been praised for the quality of their football this season, six-foot striker Rickie Lambert and imposing centre-half Jos Hooiveld were both key performers as Boro slumped to a 3-0 defeat at St Mary's in October.
The Teessiders' squad lacks similar physical presence, but McDonald denies that a lack of brawn could be a barrier to them achieving promotion this season.
"Yes, West Ham are a physical side, although they still try to pass it at times," said the Australia international. "Southampton also have some big, strong players, but I thought they played some great football against us.
"Both teams had bigger players than us, and I suppose some people will point to that as an aspect of what happened. The majority of teams have bigger players than us, but that's not a problem in itself.
"We're not the biggest squad in the world, but the gaffer loves to play in a certain way and that's brought us success in a lot of matches this season. We can't forget that just because we've lost a couple of games."
Tuesday's defeat ended an unbeaten run that stretched all the way back to February's 3-0 loss against last season's champions QPR.
It was the club's third Championship defeat of the season, but the previous two reverses, against Nottingham Forest and Southampton, were followed by victories, against Derby and Doncaster respectively.
This weekend's challenge is to make it three bounce-back wins out of three, with Boro travelling to Ashton Gate to take on a Bristol City side undergoing something of a resurgence under new boss Derek McInnes.
The Robins might only be out of the relegation zone on goal difference, but they have claimed 14 points from their last six matches. Nevertheless, McDonald is confident Middlesbrough are more than capable of stopping their recovery in its tracks.
"We went away frustrated (on Tuesday)," he said. "But the belief is still there in the changing room. We've built that belief over a fair period of time now so it's going to take a lot to shake it.
"We've been on a decent run from the back end of last season to the start of this, and that breeds a bit of confidence. You're never going to go a whole season without getting beat, so it's how you pick yourself up from disappointments that matters.
"We have to go and show people that we're hurting from the West Ham game and try to pick up points at Bristol City, a team that are starting to find confidence as well. We're all confident we can do that."
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