ASSUMED UNTIL RECENTLY TO BE facing a choice between two jobs, Steve McClaren must fear soon having neither on offer to him. The only thing moving faster than his slide down the list of bookmakers’ favourites to become England head coach is his climb up the table of odds to be the first manager dismissed in the Barclays Premiership.

McClaren signed his new contract in public on Friday, supposedly to set supporters’ minds at rest, but it will have the opposite effect if results do not improve. Having dropped from seventh in the Premiership last season to seventeenth now, Middlesbrough’s FA Cup campaign has resulted in them being taken to a replay by Nuneaton Borough and, on Saturday, outplayed by Coventry City. Their league game away to Sunderland tomorrow night will not be a meeting of buoyant teams.

Referring to a possible reduction in spending on players as falling attendances at the Riverside Stadium hit revenue, Keith Lamb, the chief executive, said last week that “eventually the fans will get the club they can afford”. Given that their team have just lost 7-0 to Arsenal and struggled against Nuneaton and Coventry, the supporters seem to have suddenly become penniless.

McClaren was still able to put a positive slant on Saturday’s game. “It was never going to be easy, but we ground out a result due to our efforts, commitment and attitude, which were first class,” he said, though they were consistently second to loose balls.

The replay tomorrow week will be no formality unless they improve a great deal. Not that McClaren deserves to be dismissed for one poor half-season having enjoyed a decent record during his four years at the club. He has endured misfortune with injuries this season and his bad luck continued on Saturday when he ran into an inspired Coventry side whose performance mocked their position in the lower half of the Coca-Cola Championship.

The early exit of Ugo Ehiogu with a hamstring injury caused a huge reshuffle of the Middlesbrough defence that continued later in the game. Stuart Parnaby started at right back, moved to left back when Ehiogu departed and returned to the right in a swap with Matthew Bates when the substitute was being tormented by Gary McSheffrey. Emanuel Pogatetz began at left back before moving inside, while Gareth Southgate shifted across the centre back positions.

The foundations were flimsy and McSheffrey, Stern John and Dele Adebola shook them. Southgate and Pogatetz were constantly beaten in the air and turned on the edge of the penalty area, while the whole defence was worried by Coventry’s propensity to run directly at goal. Such was John’s trickery and agility that Sven-Göran Eriksson should head for the Ricoh Arena to monitor a striker who will face England with Trinidad & Tobago in the World Cup finals this summer.

Even Don Hutchison, signed recently by Coventry at 34 after his career had appeared to be all but over because of injury, could not be contained by Middlesbrough. The midfield player teed up John for Coventry’s equalising goal after McSheffrey had somehow reached the ball near the left corner flag and delivered a high cross.

Middlesbrough’s goal was suitably streaky, a clearance by Marcus Hall striking Richard Duffy, his fellow Coventry defender, to allow Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to finish, but there was little else to enthuse their fans. Lee Cattermole was a rare exception, the 17-year-old tigerishly effective in the centre of midfield, but the senior players will need to pull their weight to prevent Coventry finishing the job next week.

Coventry City (4-4-2): M Fulop — R Duffy, A Williams, R Shaw, M Hall — J Scowcroft, D Hutchison (sub: C Jorgensen, 86min), M Doyle, G McSheffrey (sub: A Impey, 90) — D Adebola, S John (sub: A Morrell, 90). Substitutes not used: C Ince, R Page

Middlesbrough (4-4-2): M Schwarzer — S Parnaby, U Ehiogu (sub: M Bates, 28), G Southgate, E Pogatetz — G Mendieta, L Cattermole, F Rochemback (sub: Doriva, 72), S Downing — J F Hasselbaink, Yakubu Ayegbeni (sub: M Viduka, 64). Substitutes not used: D Knight, A Johnson. Booked: Bates

Referee: C Foy.