Football: UNITED ON THE MARCH

MANCHESTER United kept up the pressure on Chelsea and Arsenal by giving Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren a New Year hangover last night.

Goals from Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs kept United within touch of the top two and underlined the gulf in class in the Premiership.

A happy Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We are in a great run of form at the moment. We are playing with confidence and conviction. We ran out good winners and things can change in the title race. We are patient and we can wait."

Alan Smith added: "We will be right up there until the end of the season. We've got a big enough and good enough squad to keep on winning."

Middlesbrough might hope to squeeze into the top four this season, but the ease of United's win suggests they are still some way short of the European elite.

With Chelsea having won at Liverpool earlier in the day, Ferguson locked horns with former protege McClaren with his United side 12 points adrift of the Premiership pacesetters.

With Wayne Rooney suspended and both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha injured, Ferguson also found himself robbed of pounds 60m-worth of talent at the Riverside.

Smith was the only orthodox frontman on display, although both Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo supported the former Leeds striker from their respective flanks.

Middlesbrough were also under-strength up front, with Cameroon international Joseph-Desire Job given the chance to follow up last week's two-goal salvo against Norwich in the absence of hamstring victim Mark Viduka. Job partnered Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the former Chelsea striker almost gave the home side the perfect start after just two minutes.

Stewart Downing outpaced Phil Neville down the left but Hasselbaink narrowly failed to connect with his teasing cross.

But that early opportunity merely stirred United into action and, after Ronaldo had rattled the post in the eighth minute, Darren Fletcher capped an action-packed opening with a goal less than 60 seconds later. Ronaldo was left all alone when Paul Scholes had a shot charged down - the Portuguese international looked to run from an offside position before hitting the upright - and Fletcher's strike also owed a lot to some sloppy Middlesbrough defending.

Smith started the move with an incisive reverse pass and, after Giggs had galloped clear of Michael Reiziger on the left wing, Fletcher was left with the simplest of finishes from the edge of the six-yard box.

The Scotland international formed an industrious central trio with Scholes and Roy Keane and United's numerical advantage meant that Boro's midfielders found both time and space at a premium.

United's accomplished passing game meant they were always in the ascendancy before the break, with Ronaldo's trickery proving particularly difficult for Boro to deal with.

The Portuguese winger came close to creating another opening for Smith - Gareth Southgate cutting out his centre at full stretch - before the Boro skipper was rather less composed in up-ending Smith on the edge of the box.

Both Scholes and Giggs fancied the resultant free-kick but, after much debate, Ronaldo curled the ball harmlessly over the crossbar.

McClaren's half-time response was to replace the ineffectual Job with Szilard Nemeth, although the Slovakian international slotted into midfield in an attempt to win Boro more of the ball.

The change spurred Boro into action and, after spending most of the opening period in their own half, McClaren's side spent the first 10 minutes of the second camped in United territory.

But, with Ferdinand continuing to exude supreme confidence at the back, the visitors were able to take the sting out of Middlesbrough's momentum with some ease.

It helps if you can call on Roy Keane of course and, when Boro finally started throwing more men forward, Keane simply dropped a little deeper to give his back four the extra protection they required.

United made the win safe 10 minute from time, with a goal that owed a lot to second-half substitute Eric Djemba-Djemba.

The midfielder had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds when he sent Giggs through the middle, and the Welsh winger outfoxed Southgate before guiding a precise finish past Schwarzer.

VERDICT

This was easier for United than a lot of people might have expected - and that shows just how far the big three are ahead of the rest in the Premiership

ATTENDANCE: 34,199

MAN OF THE MATCH

CRISTIANO RONALDO

The Portuguese winger tormented Dutch defender Michael Reiziger all game long.

RATINGS

MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer 7; Reiziger 5, Southgate 6, Cooper 5, Queudrue 7; Parlour 7, Doriva 5, Zenden 7, Downing 7; Job 5 (Nemeth 5), Hasselbaink 7.

MAN UTD: Carroll 7; P Neville 7, Silvestre 7, Ferdinand 8, Heinze 7; RONALDO 9 (Djemba-Djemba 5), Fletcher 8, Keane 7, Scholes 8, Giggs 8 (Bellion 5); Smith 8.

MANAGERS: McClaren 6; Ferguson 7

REFEREE: A Wiley 7

Colin Cooper made his 600th league appearance of his career - but it was not one that the 37- year-old will want to remember for long.

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