Southgate planning a brighter Boro future

9:04am Saturday 10th May 2008

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WITH Premier League status secured, Gareth Southgate can now set about the task of planning for next season, which, the Middlesbrough manager insists, begins at home to Manchester City tomorrow.

As the Teessiders bring down the curtain on what has been a nervy campaign, Southgate last night reflected on a turbulent season, which has brought an agonising FA Cup quarter-final defeat and a successful relegation battle.

Southgate, however, reluctantly admits that his Middlesbrough squad have fared well in the circumstances.

Without the presence of Yakubu and Mark Viduka, who between them last year scored 35 goals for Boro, it has been a long season for Southgate's men.

A week after Roy Keane lambasted his Sunderland players in the wake of their 2-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers, Southgate will not be letting his players sit back, despite guaranteeing their top-flight survival against Portsmouth last weekend.

And to make sure of that the Boro boss has told his players that much still rests on tomorrow's encounter with Sven Goran Eriksson's City.

He said: "It's a season in which we have come through great adversity and managed to preserve our Premiership status.

"That's no cause for celebration, but it was an important season for us as a club to survive and to overcome the loss of 30-odd goals from the team was a huge challenge.

"If you look at the table we are one of the lowest scorers in the league, so when you look at the position we're in, bearing that in mind, it is a decent performance.

"It's not so much about this season now, it's already about what we do next season and how we go about it.

"That process has already started really and Sunday is the first part of it."

With effectively nothing else to play for after last week's win over Pompey, Southgate believes his players can go out and enjoy the last game of the season, but the Boro boss has warned every player will remain under scrutiny.

"We've waited all year to play without that pressure, let's see how we respond to it," said Southgate.

"You're learning about players all the time and we'll see them in a different situation this weekend at home.

"The sun will be shining, hopefully, so let us see what we can produce."

Southgate was as relieved as anybody after seeing his side finally extinguish the threat of relegation, avoiding what would have been a nervous last day of the season.

"You certainly wouldn't want to be going into this weekend needing points," said the former Boro skipper.

"The last two years we've had to go to the penultimate Saturday to get ourselves safe.

"They've been edgy games so a week further on I'm sure would be particularly difficult for everybody.

"We're not in that situation thankfully, but we still need to finish well and set the tone for next season.

"I will learn a lot about our mentality by the performance we give at the weekend."

While Southgate will not tolerate his side easing off the gas tomorrow afternoon, he admits it will be a strange feeling not having to deal with the amount of stress he has been forced to endure for much of the campaign.

"We've been playing under enormous pressure for the majority of the season," said Southgate.

"When you have the start we had it puts you on the back foot throughout.

"We've always been scrapping for points and even games we've won have tended to be by the odd goal.

"Hopefully they can go out and perform free of those inhibitions at the weekend."

Given the current state of affairs at Eastlands, the Teessiders may not have a better chance of ending the season on a winning note.

Eriksson has admitted that leaving City at the end of the season is a "possibility" following reports that owner Thaksin Shinawatra had lined up Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as his replacement.

And Southgate is as shocked as anybody at the current predicament following what Eriksson has achieved in his first season at the club.

He said: "I think everybody in football is surprised. From the outside he appears to have done an excellent job in his first season there.

"Every club has a chairman and an owner and they make the decision on what goes on.

"I'm very fortunate here that I've got the full backing of somebody that is looking longer term.

Other people will have different visions."