[1] Despite losing the new £6 million signing of the returning Juninho, Boro made a promising start to the 2002–03 season, peaking at third in early October.

The signings of Maccarone and Boateng, along with the loan of Geremi, gave the fans real hope of a top-six finish.

However, following a fantastic 3–0 win away at Spurs at the end of September which sent the club 3rd, Middlesbrough seemed to press the self-destruct button, losing the next 8 games away from home without scoring; although they remained undefeated in this period at home, this saw them sink to 12th position.

This persuaded Steve McClaren to make changes, and during the January transfer window he brought in Chris Riggott and Malcolm Christie from Derby County, Michael Ricketts from Bolton Wanderers and Doriva on loan from Celta Vigo.

This, coupled with the return of the now-fit Juninho, stopped the bad run of form and the results picked up a bit.