Southgate’s orders (From The Northern Echo)

Southgate’s orders

9:17am Friday 10th July 2009

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GARETH Southgate has ordered Mido back into training, but told him he is free to leave provided another club meets Middlesbrough’s valuation of the unsettled Egyptian.

Mido was absent from Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground for the fourth day in succession yesterday, despite claims he has returned to his Harrogate base from his native Egypt.

Southgate has spoken to the striker, and fined him a maximum two weeks wages along with fellow frontman Afonso Alves, who belatedly returned to training on Wednesday.

“Afonso is back in training, but Mido isn’t back yet,” said Southgate, who was speaking at the official unveiling of Boro’s two summer signings, Mark Yeates and Danny Coyne. “We know when we’re expecting Mido back. He should have been back on Monday, but he’s not.

“Both players have been spoken to, and disciplinary matters have been dealt with internally. Both players are under no illusions as to the feeling of myself as manager as to what’s expected of them in the future.

“I expect every professional to conduct themselves in the right way, and people either come along with us or they don’t.”

Southgate has told every member of his squad that they are free to leave this summer if they are reluctant to commit to next season’s Championship promotion push.

Mido is clearly unenthusiastic about the prospect of another season at the Riverside, but Southgate will not be forced into accepting a cutprice fee for a player that cost him £6m two years ago.

Players will clearly move on this summer, but with chairman Steve Gibson having reaffirmed his commitment to the cause, there will not be a fire sale in the wake of last season’s relegation.

“I’m not going to try to convince players to stay if they don’t want to be here,” said Southgate, who confirmed that despite a number of tentative inquiries, Boro are still receive a firm offer for any of their players. “They have to want to stay for the right reasons.

It’s not my job to twist their arm.

“If they’re up for the challenge of getting us back in the Premier League, brilliant. But if they’re not, so be it. If somebody comes up with a fee we find acceptable then fine, they can move on.

“But clubs will have to match our valuation for any of our players for us to think about doing business. We won’t be rushed or provoked into doing anything that doesn’t fit.

“We have a guide as to where we would like to be come the end of August in terms of our wage bill and incomings and outgoings, but that’s no different to any other summer.

“There’s no pressure because we know we have players we can move on, it’s just a case of people coming back from holiday and the market starting to develop.”

Tuncay is one of the players that is all but certain to leave Teesside in the next two months, with the Turkey international having attracted strong interest from Aston Villa in recent weeks.

The attacker is due to return to Rockliffe on Monday – he was given an extra week’s holiday following last month’s international exertions – but Southgate admits he is unlikely to start next season in a Boro shirt.

“I would expect there to be a lot of interest in a player of Tuncay’s quality and character,”

he said. “And I wouldn’t think we would be able to hold on to a player of his talent and ability.

“He’s an international player – we have quite a few players I would class as Premier League players, but he’s a top half of the Premier League player.”

Southgate has already identified a number of attacking options should Tuncay and Mido leave, with Derby striker Rob Hulse understood to be close to the top of his wanted list.

“We have targets in place and have every position covered,”

he said. “We know who we would go for in the event of certain players in certain positions moving on, and because of the division we’re in, we’ve probably got one or two positions where our young guys would provide good squad options.”

Southgate also confirmed that former Crystal Palace manager Alan Smith has been appointed as a ‘football consultant’ to assist him with a number of non-matchday issues.

“It’s very much a behindthe- scenes role,” said the Boro boss, who will not be appointing a like-for-like replacement for former assistant manager Malcolm Crosby. “It won’t be a case of him being on the training field or in the dressing room. It’s very much to help the business side of the club run.

“It’s an appointment myself and the chairman spoke at length about, and I believe Alan can add a lot of qualities that we don’t possess at the moment.”

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