Pompey were glad of the point from the goalless draw at The Riverside but, with the away goal drought ex-tending into its third month, manager Harry Redknapp admitted that his side badly need more goals to get back to winning ways.

Redknapp said: "We are short of goalscorers but Teddy will come good in the end and I'm confident he'll get 12 or 13 goals for us.

"Yakubu worked his socks off and you couldn't fault him for effort. Perhaps he made one wrong decision in the second half in going alone rather than passing to Nigel Quashie, who was unmarked alongside him and looking certain to score.

"We were excellent in the first half, dominating the game - with a better final ball and the finish to go with it, we would have won the game in that period.

"We just can't seem to get the ball into the back of the net. Other than that, everything is excellent.

"We've been playing well generally this season without getting the breaks, and today was no different."

"I haven't got any other options and we've got injuries to Vincent Pericard, Svetoslav Todorov and Jason Roberts at the present, which doesn't help.

"If the right player comes along, I'll try to sign him, but where do you find one without paying a fortune. Unless you spend something like £10m, you are not going to get a guaranteed goalscorer".

The Pompey boss was clearly upset at Steve Stone's dismissal for two bookings - Pompey's third red card in their last four matches - with this latest arising out of innocuous challenges.

"We've got two out next week and will be missing three key players - De Zeeuw, Berger and Stone - the following weekend against Southampton.

"There's not been a decent decision amongst them - what did Stone do to deserve his red for two nothing bookings?

"In every game, we haven't lacked commitment and anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. I'm happy with the point and it will be a good platform as we prepare for next week's important game against Everton."

Boro manager Steve McClaren echoed the Riverside fans' reaction to proceedings: "Frustration was definitely the word and it was a missed opportunity.

"We didn't get that defining moment but I can't be too harsh on the players because it comes after a gruelling week and I think that showed today.

"I'm delighted with the players' efforts as they've shown total commitment in keeping another clean sheet."