Tottenham and Middlesbrough contested an uninspired goalless draw at White Hart Lane.

Neither side seemed able to string more than two passes together whether under pressure or not and the hustle and bustle belied a shocking lack of invention that hinted at a deep-seated lack of self-belief from both teams.

Middlesbrough, second bottom in the table going into the match, had marginally more purpose to their play and deserved their valuable away point.

The draw lifts Steve McClaren's team out of the bottom three and, with more cutting edge up front, Boro appear equipped to climb out of the bottom reaches.

Tottenham, resurgent under the stewardship of David Pleat, rarely threatened the Middlesbrough goal and showed little of their recent form.

They went into the match without in-form striker Frederic Kanoute, presenting Bobby Zamora with a chance to impress.

But the young striker was replaced by Helder Postiga after 65 minutes and failed to underline his case for a regular start.

Spurs had marginally the better of the first-half, enjoying the majority of the possession and territorial advantage, but failed to create any real openings.

Paul Konchesky was heavily involved in the opening stages pushing down the left-hand side, twice forcing handling errors from Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and testing young Boro full-back Andrew Davies.

Even so, Schwarzer comfortably saved a weak Bobby Zamora shot after 32 minutes and the Boro defence remained relatively untroubled.

It was the visitors who created the best opportunity of the opening half, hitting Tottenham on the break after another Spurs attack disintegrated.

Boudewijn Zenden picked George Boateng's late run into the Spurs area with a drilled cross from the left, but the midfielder scooped his shot over the bar from short range.

Shortly after the resumption of play Gustavo Poyet met a Darren Anderton corner and headed goalwards in trademark fashion, but Schwarzer saved on the line.

Boro then enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure and Zenden forced a decent save from Kasey Keller with a well-struck shot.

Gaizka Mendieta, inventive throughout the afternoon, forced Keller into action after 66 minutes with a curling free-kick.

Middlesbrough seemed the most likely to snatch a late winner but, for all the effort of both teams, most attacking moves broke down without seriously troubling the opposition defence.

Postiga came closest to breaking the deadlock, but his shot from an acute angle was easily dealt with by Schwarzer.