MALCOLM Christie has repeated his desire to prove himself at Middlesbrough but the injury-plagued striker has admitted he might have to walk away from the Riverside if he is unable to secure first-team football in the final three months of the season.

Christie is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and, with Boro officials yet to initiate a new round of talks, his future remains far from certain.

On the one hand, he would love to earn a new deal with the Teessiders so he can improve on a record of just 28 senior starts during his four years at the club.

On the other, he is aware that he can ill afford to spend more time on the sidelines after suffering a spate of serious injuries that have included a broken foot and two broken legs.

"I don't know what's going to happen because the club have said nothing to me," said Christie, who came with a £3m price tag when he moved from Derby in January 2003.

"I've made my feelings well known - I'd love to stay - but there are obviously a lot of things to consider.

"There haven't been any chats yet and there's nothing in the pipeline, so whether I stay or move elsewhere will be decided at the end of the season."

Christie's Middlesbrough career has gone steadily downhill since he scored three goals in his first six games for the Teessiders.

Signed by Steve McClaren as one of the most promising young strikers in the country, the former shelf-stacker has tumbled down the pecking order as a succession of injury problems have taken their toll.

The 27-year-old clearly feels unfulfilled as a result and would love to reward everyone at the club for their patience and loyalty.

"I know I still have a lot of things to prove at Middlesbrough," said Christie. "I look at how many games I've played in relation to the amount of time that I've been here, and the statistics are very poor.

"I want to put that right because the Middlesbrough supporters have not seen the best of me."

Similarly, though, Christie has not seen the best of himself. Even when his problems finally appeared to be at an end in mid-November, he was unable to break up Gareth Southgate's preferred strike partnership of Ayegbeni Yakubu and Mark Viduka.

His last Premiership start came in early December, so even if Boro were to make him a new offer this summer, he would need a guarantee of more involvement before putting pen to paper.

"I certainly don't want to be sitting on the bench next season," said Christie. "I'm going to be 28 soon, so I'm coming to a stage of my career where I definitely need to be playing week in, week out.

"I'm not stupid. It's difficult enough for me to get in the team now - if I do stay, it might be even harder next season.

"I've been to see the manager and told him that I need to be playing games. He understands my frustrations. It's not just the fact that I'm out of the team at the moment, it's the fact that I've hardly kicked a ball for the last couple of years.

"So not only has the club got to decide whether they want me or not, I also have to review my options."

Last month, those options appeared to include a loan move to a Championship club, with Stoke and Preston both linked with a temporary swoop for the striker.

Their interest came to nothing and, despite the recent arrival of South Korea international Dong Gook Lee, Christie accepts that he is almost certain to remain a Boro player until at least the end of the season.

"If Middlesbrough had loaned me out for the rest of the season, where would that have left me here? It was a difficult call to make, but between now and the end of the season I just have to do all I can to either win a new contract or show any prospective employers that I can still play."

* Middlesbrough have been allocated 2,642 tickets, priced at £15 for adults and £5 for concessions, for Tuesday's FA Cup replay at West Brom. They are available to personal callers at the main ticket office at the Riverside and MFC Retail at Captain Cook Square, or via telephone on 0844 499 1234.

* The BBC have revealed that the FA Cup quarter-final between Middlesbrough or West Brom and Manchester United or Reading will be screened live on Saturday, March 10 (ko 5.30pm).