baoom.com: News - Premiership News - McClaren says the plan is going perfectly

Middlesborough boss Steve McClaren admits that he is ahead of schedule in his five-year master plan to be a Premiership force.

Middlesborough currently lie in the top six of the Premiership after ending leaders Liverpools unbeaten run in the Premiership this season.

Boro's success this season has been unexpected to many of their fans and players, the progress that the Teessiders are making has been excellent in the 17 months since McClaren took over from Bryan Robson.

He made it perfectly clear that his plan from day one was to sustain success and not have a quick fix. McClaren's five-year plan is well underway but acknowledges that there is still a long way to go, although the team have progressed far quicker than he expected.

I remember talking last year and saying `we got a team together and we finished 12th and we got to a cup semi-final' and I would have said with that, we reached first base,'' he said.

"This year we wanted to reach second base, and I think we're well on the way to that. We've improved the team and we're playing better football.

"It's a young team. If you look at the experience there's only really Mark Schwarzer, Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu and George Boateng who have got over 100 games in the Premiership.

"The rest of them are all babies really in terms of experience in the Premier League. We haven't got much at all.

"It's a bit like when Gerard Houllier first took over at Liverpool. He had a lot of turning around to do and it's taken them four or five years to become genuine title contenders.

"Our aspirations might not be that high, but certainly we want to go as far as possible, and that takes a while.

"During that time, you have knocks and you have to learn from them. That's what we're doing and that's what we'll do this year.''

Boro's football has radically increased due to the addition of midfielders Geremi and Boateng behind young star Maccarone. Joeph Job has made a welcome return to the side with excellent performances.

"I've said all along we're a good team and we've done well this season,'' McClaren said. "We've progressed quicker than I thought we would from last season.

"I'm very pleased with our progress. Consistency is the name of the game, to perform every week consistently well and when you're not playing well, grind out results and show tremendous character.''