McClaren masterminds Spurs destruction

'This was one of those days when everything goes right. These things take time. We are not where we want to be yet, but we have showed today what we can do. There's more to come.'

According to McClaren, the key to his team's improvement has been his decision to lower its average age.

It is easy to see his point but, watching his team clinically dismantle Spurs on Saturday, the benefits of high quality coaching were clear.

Even without the influential Juninho, who seems certain to be sidelined for the rest of the year because of a serious knee injury, the Middlesbrough boss remained upbeat.

McClaren said: 'Juninho is such a quality player that you can't dismiss his chances of returning before the end of December. But other players have come in and done a great job.'

Tottenham, who were without 12 injured players, were dreadful. But the chances are that they would not have coped with their opponents anyway.

At the heart of Middlesbrough's afternoon was the exquisite striker Alen Boksic. He gave a masterclass in centre forward play, perfect apart from the fact that he did not score.

In tandem with the vibrant Italian Massimo Maccarone, he was the focal point of much of what Middlesbrough did and they picked holes in the Tottenham defence with ease.

Maccarone was the first to score as Boksic miscued a Jon Greening cross into his path in the first half and as McClaren's team created and squandered a stream of opportunities, one wondered if they would pay a price later on.

No danger. Middlesbrough began the second period with renewed hunger and Maccarone made mugs of Gary Doherty and Ben Thatcher en route to creating opportunities - duly taken - for Geremi and Joseph-Desire Job.

At 3-0, it was an afternoon of serious embarrassment for Hoddle; an afternoon when the effect of his catalogue of injuries finally caught up with him. It could have been worse as Boksic struck a post and Geremi did likewise with a late free-kick. But with Christian Ziege and goalkeeper Kasey Keller suffering calf injuries and Jamie Redknapp taking a knock, Hoddle was left to ponder just who will be available when Cardiff arrive for the Worthington Cup tomorrow.

The Spurs boss said: 'It will be a difficult game on Tuesday. The crowd gave us the bird today and we deserved it. I won't make excuses by talking about the injuries. I don't know where this performance came from. It could be the kick up the backside we need.'

It was easy to feel a little sympathy for Hoddle and he deserved credit for resisting the temptation to seek sanctuary in excuses. But this was McClaren's day.

When he was struggling last season, common sense prevailed at The Riverside. The rewards are as deserved as they have been spectacular.