Having failed to score since mid-August, Scott McDonald needed to 'come out of the firing line' according to Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray.
The Australian international was an unused sub in Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the English Championship and Mowbray admits it was just to give him a mental and physical rest from the high-pressure nature of being a striker.
"Sometimes you need to break the pattern with players and that's what I was trying to do with Scott, give him a mental breather," Mowbray said.
"He's worked his socks off for the team and he's one of the reasons we've done well so far this season. Ultimately he needs to score some goals, so we took him out of the firing line and he'll be back soon."
