During this season, Middlesbrough had a new sponsor, 888.com. The team's kit was produced by Errea. The home shirt included a white band on it for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The away strip was mainly white with maroon sleeves, navy blue shorts and white socks. Away to Southampton, white shorts and navy socks were worn with the away shirt.

After the triumph in the League Cup final the previous season and a solid 11th-place finish in the league, Boro fans were optimistic that this season would be a success. Steve McClaren signed Boudewijn Zenden and Doriva on permanent deals following their loan spells, as well as adding high profile signings Ray Parlour, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Reiziger to the squad. With these new additions, the supporters felt that, come the end of the season, Boro would be pushing for a league place good enough to qualify for Europe.

The season started well and Middlesbrough found themselves in fourth position following only one loss in the first 5 games. Despite a slight drop in their form, Boro kept in and around the top four until mid-November.

However, the UEFA Cup took its toll on the small Boro squad and their form stuttered towards Christmas. The team seemed to consist of more and more young players who were deputising for more senior players such as Gaizka Mendieta and Malcolm Christie who were ruled out for the season with injuries.

Following a 2-0 win at home to Norwich City on 28 December, Boro were in fifth place. However, after only one win in the next ten games the team found themselves in ninth and seemed to have undone their good work at the start of the season.

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Wikipedia