McClaren: future looks bright for Boro babes

STEVE McCLAREN believes his successor at Middlesbrough will inherit a magnificent legacy after the Teessiders went down fighting in a 1-0 defeat at Fulham.

The average age of Boro’s squad yesterday was 19 with England coach in waiting McClaren revealing all but one of the 16 – Malcolm Christie – were born within 30 miles of the Riverside.

He said after the game: “It’s a proud day for Middlesbrough Football Club and a proud day for chairman Steve Gibson. It has been his dream to field a team of players who were born within 30 miles of the stadium. Out of the 16 players in the squad, 15 were born within that radius.