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SCOTT McDonald has hailed the hungry young lions who are adding bite to Boro.

The Aussie goal-getter bagged two more in the 3-0 win over Huddersfield to take his tally to seven for the season and to grab the headlines.

But he insists the credit should go to the team - and beyond that, to the squad.

With injuries and bans, boss Tony Mowbray was forced to make four changes for the clash with the Terriers.

They included handing first league starts of the season to Andy Halliday and Richard Smallwood, both playing in unusual roles.

Former left winger Halliday has been re-branded as a full-back and had an impressive game while tough tackling defensive midfielder Smallwood was playing on the left flank.

“I thought Andy and Richie both had superb games,” said the on-song striker.

“If they can step into the team and perform like that in big games and in unaccustomed roles it just shows how strong the squad is, doesn’t it?

“It is so encouraging.

“Richie was fantastic, especially in the first half. He saw a lot of the ball in an inside left position and caused them all sorts of problems.

“And Andy has only been converted to a left-back over the last six or eight months and he has really adapted to it.

“He’s a great athlete, he’s got pace, good feet, he can beat a man and he has an instinct to get forward down the flank.

"George has done that very effectively for us this season and it’s part of the way we play so for Andy to step in and do that as well as he did was a real credit to him.”

McDonald believes those two displays are just the tip of the iceberg and show the strength in depth in the squad and the calibre of the next generation.

“You can see from the younger players coming in that we have real strength in depth now,” he said.

“We have some really hungry young lads who have come up through the ranks here and who are starting to step up to the plate - not just Richie and Andy but the lads like Adam Reach, Luke Williams and Cameron Park too.

“They have come in and done their bits now and then earlier in the season and they will come back in and do it again.

“They are young, the desire is there, it’s their home club... all they want to do is come in and play football and get that chance to prove themselves. And they’ll get it. And we should have no fears about them when they do.

“They’re not kids any more.”

Third placed Boro now go to Birmingham tomorrow night looking to close in on the top two before they play on Saturday.

“It would be nice to win on Friday night and put a bit the pressure on the leaders,” he said. “If we do our job properly and win we can relax on Saturday and watch how they cope.

“It won’t be easy at Birmingham, we know that. They have got some good players and big players too - Zigic can be a handful and we will have to work hard to keep him quiet.

“But we should have a few back and we’ll go there with a strong side, motivated and focused and we’ll do our best.”