Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren has hailed the next week as one of the biggest in his club's history. Boro face Charlton on Thursday night in an FA Cup quarter-final at The Valley - and Bolton follow in a Barclays Premiership match on Sunday, but the focus will switch to the first leg of their last-eight UEFA Cup clash in Basel. At the end of that double header they will have played 21 games in the knockout competitions this season, yet they are in 16th spot in the league.

"We have always been one of those clubs who have taken the cups very seriously," assessed McClaren. "We got a flavour for them after winning the Carling Cup a couple of years ago, and we wanted more."