Middlesbrough goal h er o Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink celebrated the UEFA Cup comeback win against Basle and declared:

"What a night!"

The Dutch striker was among Boro's scorers in their 4-1 v

ictory, which took them through to the competition's semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.

Boro had fallen behind in the second leg but roared ba

ck against the Swiss side, with Mark Viduka netting twice, Hasselbaink once and Massimo Maccarone the late winner.

"Absolutely magnificent. What a night!" said Hasselbaink. "1-0 behind and we win 4-1 - we made history. It's unbelievable."

Hasselbaink started the game on the bench and admitted: "I was gutted that I didn't start. And when we went 1-0 behind I thought, 'Oh dear, here we go again, it sums up my career with medals'.

"When I came on I just thought, 'Let's give it everything and look where we can go. This is absolutely magnificent."

Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren's job looked to be under threat just a couple of months ago, but the team's form since - and their success in Europe - has taken a weight off his shoulders.

McClaren is again now spoken of as a potential successor to England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He was overjoyed by Boro's triumph.

"We said before the game it would take a monumental display to come through this," McClaren told ITV4.

"I've got a happy dressing room and deservedly so.

"We felt the last 20 minutes would be ours with the energy they'd expended in the first half.

"And once we got the second goal we thought we could get two in the last 20 minutes.

"We were running out of time, and people stepped forward, and it was one of them.

"Whether it was written on the cards I don't know. But it was a fantastic performance, full of character, grit, great football, opportunities.

"I'm delighted for the players, the supporters who were magnificent all night and stayed behind the team, the chairman, everyone involved in Middlesbrough Football Club.