Being booked just once this season is proof to Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz that he is not the dirty player as portrayed. The former Spartak Moscow man collected 20 yellow cards in his first two seasons with Boro, but he believes he has cleaned up his image after receiving just one this term.

"That was my first sending-off since moving to Boro, which is not a bad record is it?" said Pogatetz.

"I have been booked only once this season. I think that shows I am not a dirty player.

"I am physical, yes. I like the physical side and it is part and parcel of football, but not dirty.

"That is the one thing I am not so happy about in England. If you make a mistake there are headlines everywhere, all over the world."