Middlesbrough v Banik Ostrava The Riverside, 8.00OnInhibition permeated the Teesside air yesterday. Fans buying tickets for tonight's game with Banik Ostrava - the first European tie in Middlesbrough's history - were horrified to find they were seemingly subject to a formal dress code, and Steve McClaren cautioned his players against losing their well starched shape on the pitch.
Printing and distribution errors meant that tickets originally intended for recipients of corporate hospitality ended up on general sale bearing the forbidding message: "It is a condition of entry that gentlemen wear a jacket, collar and tie. Jeans, tracksuits and trainers are not permitted."
If Middlesbrough's manager laughed at that - "I'd better not wear my tracksuit then" - McClaren will demand a formulaic rather than improvisational performance from his personnel against the Czech champions, with strict positional discipline de rigueur. "In European football, patience and discipline are the order of the day; we have to make sure we keep a clean sheet," he explained.
McClaren, likely to be without the injured Gaizka Mendieta and Ugo Ehiogu, has sat his squad down in front of videos of Ostrava compiled by Don Mackay, his chief European scout. "We've done our homework and are fully prepared, but we need to be because I honestly think Banik Ostrava was one of the toughest ties to come out of the draw." Guardian Service
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