By Stuart Roach BBC Sport Online

McClaren is frustrated by his side's away form

Steve McClaren admits he does not know where the next twist in Middlesbrough's Home and Away soap opera is coming from.

The Middlesbrough boss saw his side slip to an eighth successive Premiership away defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at Loftus Road on Sunday.

That's a tough enough run to explain away, but on the back of Middlesbrough's unbeaten home form the statistics make almost impossible reading.

McClaren concedes he has no answer to the bizarre football conundrum.

"Anyone who has watched us at home has seen some great games and great football and we are the only team unbeaten at home in the Premier League.

"But away from home it's a completely different story - it's a Jeckyll and Hyde situation," he sighed.

Middlesbrough's failure to end their woeful away run has not been for the want of trying.

"Against Fulham, we changed things a little bit to keep it a bit tighter. That didn't turn out too well when they scored just before half time so we put three strikers on for the second half.

"We improved and had a go but we didn't score in the spell we should have done.

"We still can't buy a goal," he added.

Maccorone drew another blank at Fulham

Boro, in fact, have managed only four away goals all season and not even the presence of one of the country's top sports psychologists has managed to end the inexplicable run.

Bill Beswick, who worked with McClaren at Derby and Manchester United, is also the former England coach's number two at Boro.

But not even Beswick has the answer to Middlesbrough's problems.

"He's working on me more than the players," joked McClaren.

"But everybody - players and coaching staff - is involved in this and there is no skulking away or hiding.

"It's there in black and white but the only way we will get out of it is by working harder and sticking together and that is what we will aim to do."

We can only aim to go higher when we sort out the away form Steve McClaren

McClaren, though, is reluctant to look at the situation either as a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty scenario.

The pessimistic coach would be thanking his home form for keeping Boro clear of the drop zone, while the optimist would be wandering what might have been but for the woeful run on the road.

But McClaren insisted: "It becomes irrelevant.

"We have amassed 30 points and we are where we are, whether that is home or away.

"But we can only aim to go higher when we sort out the away form and start picking up points away from home."