Parlour: We can meet expectations

Middlesbrough midfielder Ray Parlour believes the players can match the rising expectations on Teesside.

Manager Steve McClaren's team have not rested on the laurels of last season's Carling Cup triumph which brought with it the reward of their present debut UEFA Cup campaign.

Boro head into tonight's latest encounter against Villarreal at the El Madrigal Stadium with an unbeaten record in Europe, disposing of Czech champions Banik Ostrava in the first round, followed by wins over Greek minnows Egaleo and Italians Lazio to top Group E.

The Teessiders also go into the game on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run in the Barclays Premiership that has lifted them to fourth and offered aspirations of Champions League football next season.

While Parlour knows nothing can be taken for granted at what is still an early juncture in the season, he feels there is understandable cause for optimism.

His own arrival in the summer on a free transfer from Arsenal, combined with those of Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Reiziger, increased fans' anticipation.

Results and performances at home and abroad since have added fuel to the fire, and Parlour said: "Winning the trophy last year was a massive boost for the club.

"Because of that the expectations have gone up and to deliver is very difficult these days because there are a lot of good teams in the league and in Europe.

"I think we can match those expectations from what I've seen so far. The backroom staff are fantastic, the players are working hard and everyone wants to achieve things.

"The key to our success has been organisation and team spirit, while we've trained hard and everybody understands what everybody else has to do on the pitch.

"We've all done well so far, but there's a long way to go yet because we're only a third of the way through the season.

"At the moment everything is fine, but we all know it can go wrong very quickly, so we have to keep working hard."