The 26-year-old Australian international, who joined Boro from Celtic in the January transfer window, broke his duck for Middlesbrough on the weekend in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle.

And after going through his first four games for Boro goalless, McDonald told the Northern Echo he's delighted to get off the mark.

"I hope it's the first of many, I'm up and running," he said. "I'm quite confident that will be the case. As long as the chances keep coming, I will get in the right place and hopefully put them in the net."

McDonald has battled a groin injury since arriving on the Riverside after hernia surgery in early January whilst still at Celtic, but he revealed he's close to regaining his full fitness.

"I'm not 100 per cent fit. It was not nagging in the back of my mind for the first time. I wasn't feeling uncomfortable," he said. "I haven't been able to put my full weight behind the ball in recent games.

"Now there's a sense of belief and I would like to enjoy my football again."

And the 26-year-old would love to enjoy his football in England's top flight, but knows Middlesbrough have some way to go in their push for promotion to the Premiership.

"We are still in there but we need to get wins on the board right now," he said. "We need a minimum of five wins and that might not even be enough. We have to be looking at 20-plus points out of 30 to get in there.

"We will keep fighting. The frustration is that we have got our shape, everything is emerging and we might run out of time this season, but we hope not.

"We will keep fighting until someone tells us it is over."

He added after the hard-fought draw with Championship leaders Newcastle: "If nothing else we hope we have given fans optimism for next season and the future.

"The support was great, such enthusiasm in the stands. It was great to see them like that. A lot more of that will help us. If we can get that until the end of the season it would be superb. We would like a bit more of it.

"When I ran out I said 'this is more like it. This is what I like. Let's go and enjoy it'. It's fair to say it is something I've missed from Celtic, playing in front of crowds like that. It's different.

"It doesn't change my focus, but it does make a difference when fans are loud and like that week in week out. It gives you more of an edge and you enjoy it more.

"There was a buzz in the stadium and the fans were right behind us. It gave us a taste of what it would be like if we get up."