Viduka backs ailing Boro
20 Dec 2006 - 08:14:50
Striker Mark Viduka remains confident Middlesbrough have the quality in their ranks to avoid being drawn into a relegation battle.
Boro slipped to 17th in the table after Monday's 2-1 defeat at Fulham and only goal difference is keeping Gareth Southgate's side out of the drop zone.
But Viduka insists nobody at the club is pressing the panic button and the Australia international - back after a month out with a broken toe - has backed his team-mates to put their recent poor run behind them.
He said: "We played some good football against Fulham and it's disappointing when you don't get the rewards for it. But we have to stay optimistic and look forward.
"We have a huge game against Charlton and it's an opportunity to get some points. It's a tight group at the bottom.
"Let's hope we get a win and then we will move up. It's a difficult situation to be in but we have the quality to get us out of this position.
"If we keep playing like we did against Fulham then the results will come. Our heads haven't dropped at all.
"If we went to Fulham and got battered it would have been a different story - we'd have been really down about it.
"Christmas is such a busy period that we could come out in a great position or find ourselves down the other end. We believe we can come out on top."