Cup form inspires Boro - Downing

Downing netted his first goal of the season at West Ham last weekend

Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing is confident the morale within the squad has been bolstered by the performance in Saturday's 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Downing, 24, netted his first goal of the season as Boro earned a FA Cup fifth round replay and the England man saw plenty of positives in the display.

"A good cup run can spark things," he told BBC Tees.

"Under Steve McClaren we did it, we had a good cup run and secured safety and it means a lot [to score]."

One issue for Southgate's side has been scoring, with only Stoke, Newcastle and Fulham enjoying less shots on goal in the Premier League, and no team has scored less than the Teessiders with 18.

Brazilian striker Afonso Alves has borne most of the criticism from supporters during the club's lean spell, with just one league goal since his winner against Manchester City in October.

But Downing believes that fans must remain supportive and believes that he himself shoulders some responsibility to increase that tally.

"We're creating chances week-in week-out and we just don't put them away," he said.

"He's on fire in training and it's only a matter of time before he gets a few, it's a team game and if he doesn't step up then others have to.

"It's not all just about Afonso, there's pressure on him because he's the main striker and we paid a lot of money for him but we have to put him in the space to score goals and hopefully he will do."