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MARK Viduka last night urged Middlesbrough's board to do everything in their power to keep Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink at the club after claiming his strike partner was the most "instinctive" finisher in the game.

The Dutchman will become a free agent in the summer and, after admitting that the current campaign could prove to be his last on Teesside, his future has become the subject of considerable conjecture in recent days.

A perceived lack of urgency on the part of the Boro board has been interpreted as evidence of an unwillingness to offer the 34-year-old a new deal on the same lucrative terms as his current contract, which is believed to be worth around �45,000-a-week.

Hasselbaink came close to joining both Fulham and West Brom in January and, while his current employers are reluctant to offer him the security of a two-year deal, some of their Premiership rivals are likely to display less caution this summer.

Viduka admits that the Middlesbrough hierarchy will have to make some difficult decisions as they attempt to take the club forward in the close season.

But, after Hasselbaink lashed home his 16th goal of the campaign in Wednesday night's 4-2 win over Charlton, the Australian is urging them to make retaining his services one of their leading priorities.

"Jimmy would be a great loss if he were to leave Middlesbrough in the summer," said Viduka, who boasts 15 goals of his own after wrapping up Wednesday night's win with the goal of the game in the 77th minute. "I would love to continue my partnership with Jimmy.

"I don't know what's going to happen with him in the future, but I would love to continue playing with him because he's a great player.

"He's a great member of the squad and he's important to us. He's important on the pitch and he's a great person to have in the dressing room. He's a born leader and you need those sort of people at your football club."

Four months ago, Hasselbaink was a peripheral presence on the domestic stage, with his lack of first-team action leading him to question the wisdom of Steve McClaren's controversial rotation policy.

In the last six weeks, though, the former Chelsea striker has come into his own with crucial goals against Roma and Basle helping Boro into the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and braces against both West Brom and Bolton having secured the club's Premiership survival.

Few strikers can match Hasselbaink's ability for conjuring a goal from nothing, and even Viduka has been left open-mouthed at the quality of some of his recent strikes.

"He's one of the most instinctive strikers I've ever seen," said the Australia international. "His finishing is second to none and he's a very dangerous player to have in your team.

"Opposition defenders must hate playing against Jimmy because they can't afford to relax for a second. One minute the ball's going towards him, the next it's in the back of the net."

Viduka has proved equally prolific as Middlesbrough have maintained their progress on two different fronts.

The 30-year-old is no stranger to success after having played in a Champions League semi-final for Leeds.

But, while his career at Elland Road took him to the San Siro, the Stadio Olimpico and the Bernabeu, it did not result in any trophies. With Boro preparing for two major semi-finals, that is an anomaly he is desperate to correct.

"Each era has its own excitement," he said. "My time at Leeds was very exciting because it was the semi-final of the Champions League. It was a great time, but this is every bit as exciting. I also had exciting times when I was winning championships in Australia.

"I played in big games for Leeds, but I never actually won anything. You remember the time fondly, but it's a little bit soured by the fact it didn't end in a trophy. You want to win things."

To do that, Middlesbrough must either overcome Steaua Bucharest in the last four of the UEFA Cup or West Ham in an FA Cup semi-final. In an ideal world, of course, they could do both.

On their current form, such a notable achievement is hardly out of the question and, while Viduka argues that confidence has never been in short supply, he admits last week's heroics against Basle have made the squad feel as good as invincible.

"That win did wonders for us," he said. "Everybody had written us off, but we bounced back and scored three goals to win. If we're capable of winning that game, we're capable of winning anything.

"We're going into every game expecting to win. We've got the players to do something like that against any team. That's a great thing to have at the back of your mind."

* Steve McClaren's prospects of landing the England job increased yesterday when Charlton boss Alan Curbishley, believed to be one of his leading rivals in the race to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson, revealed he had not been asked to attend a second interview for the post.

McClaren is understood to have met the FA's nominations panel on Monday, while Ulsterman Martin O'Neill, now understood to be the only other candidate under consideration, is believed to have been at Soho Square yesterday.

"Something should be sorted out in the next couple of weeks," revealed Curbishley.

"But I don't know if I'm included in that because I haven't been contacted."

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