The defenders are very “big and tough” and the grass is different to what he was used to - Lee Dong-Gook admitted he was finding it difficult to adjust to life in the Premier League.
But that didn’t mean the striker was giving up on his dream of making the grade in the English game, instead insisting he would be working overtime in the gym to bulk up and add some much-needed upper body strength.
“I think I need to be a bit more aggressive on the pitch,” the striker told the Gazette on this day in 2007.
“And because the defenders are very big and tough here I need to do some weight training.
“Whether I am tall or short, it is a matter of how strong you are, especially in the upper body, so I am doing a lot of weight lifting.
“And regardless of whether I am famous or not in Korea, I’m thinking like a newcomer and trying to do my best in all of my games.”
The Korean frontman’s introduction to the English game hadn’t been the way he would have envisaged it.
Two months in to his Boro career and he’d still only started the one game, the 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City, when he was hauled off at half-time after an ineffective 45 minutes.
And he was still searching for his first goal. He’d came close after coming off the bench to make his debut against Reading but hit the post and then hit the other post from the penalty spot in the FA Cup replay win at West Brom.
“In my very first match I hit the post and I thought it was going to be a very good season for me,” said the striker.
“But with more games I have found that the defenders are very, very tough and strong.
“It is more difficult than I thought and I missed a few chances, especially the penalty in the FA Cup replay at West Brom.
“The grass is also very different to Korea. It is very soft, and everything that I have mentioned is just a step towards me getting used to the English Premier League.”
Dislodging Mark Viduka and Yakubu from the Boro team was also proving to be quite the task for Dong-Gook and his struggle to hit the net wasn’t helping his cause.
He would have to wait until the following season to break his Boro duck as he spent the vast majority of his first campaign sat on the bench.
It was a sign of things to come for the goal-shy striker on Teesside.
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