Difficult night is forecast for Boro.

Byline: By Paul Gilder

A cold night lies in wait as Middlesbrough prepare to take on Arsenal for a place in the Carling Cup final. But Steve McClaren is hoping his defenders don't feel the heat again this evening, as Paul Gilder reports.

Although the sun shone brightly over Middlesbrough's Hurworth HQ yesterday afternoon, the gritters were out in force along the A19; for Steve McClaren, the accuracy of this week's weather forecasts could prove to be deeply significant.

The Teessiders are scheduled to play their most important game of the season this evening - a match in which a positive result would represent the greatest moment of McClaren's coaching career.

He can't admit it publicly but, despite the excitement which is building as the Riverside Stadium prepares to host Arsenal in the second leg of an eagerly-awaited Carling Cup semi-final, the predicted big freeze and possible postponement of this fixture would buy McClaren valuable time and would hardly be lamented within the home dressing room.

"We're sweating on the fitness of Gareth (Southgate) and Ugo (Ehiogu)," said the Middlesbrough manager, whose side have already conceded 12 goals to Arsenal this season, four of them in the absence of his best two defenders at Highbury four days ago. "We'll need our best players and all their experience if we're going to get through." The return of Southgate and Ehiogu to stiffen a brittle backline would greatly increase Boro's chances of building on last week's unexpected 1-0 victory in North London; yet McClaren last night expertly fended off any suggestions that a weather-enforced delay would be welcomed as he attempts to steer the club to a first major trophy.

"This is one of the biggest games for this football club in many years and we're looking forward to it," he insisted. "It is certainly the biggest game of our season.

"We have some experienced players here, players who can deal with the situation, and we're very confident the game will be able to go ahead. We have been keeping a close eye on the forecasts but the weather has been beautiful here."

Although Boro enjoyed a run of seven clean sheets in November and December, the loss of Southgate, Ehiogu and Colin Cooper does not bode well for a meeting with an Arsenal side who have put four goals past the Teessiders on three separate occasions this season.

Yet few expected McClaren's men to get a positive result at Highbury eight days ago and, despite the trauma of Saturday's latest trouncing, Boro's ambitious boss believes his players have the mental fortitude required to recover.

"This club has had many disappointments in the past, many bad results," he explained. "It is very important to bounce straight back and the players here have already shown that they can bounce back from these setbacks. The result last Tuesday was a significant one, that showed we can put these things behind us; we have to do it again now."

McClaren has been quick to counter suggestions that Boro's first-leg triumph came against a Highbury reserve team. "I have looked at that side," he said. "Toure, Keown, Cygan, Parlour, Edu, Kanu, Gilberto Silva. These guys are no mugs, they would grace any side in the Premier League; add Patrick Vieira, as they are expected to do, and that's not a bad team at all. "Lets face it, it does not matter what team Arsene (Wenger) puts out it will be a good one and it will be a difficult game. The important thing for us is to not worry about them. We have to prepare for this match as we do any other, prepare properly, it's about what we do; like any match at home, we must score first."

Almost two years have passed since Arsenal denied Boro a place in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. Revenge would be sweet but, having missed a string of chances which would have killed this tie last week, McClaren knows there is much work still to be done.

"It has been a long journey to get here, we're very close but we're also a long way away," he added. "We have done half a job, there's plenty more work to be done to finish it off. It's far from over."