GARETH Southgate knows his position will be called into question if Middlesbrough fail to see off Championship opponents Wolves in the fourth round of the FA Cup this afternoon.

But even if things do not go according to plan at Molineux, Southgate will not consider turning his back on the Teessiders.

A run of ten Premier League games without a victory has plunged Boro into the relegation zone for the first time this season, and the knives will be sharpened if they follow last weekend’s defeat at West Brom with another disappointment in the Black Country.

Southgate has endured a succession of setbacks in recent weeks, from Stewart Downing’s transfer request to the injury that will sideline Jeremie Aliadiere for much of the second half of the season.

But his commitment to the Middlesbrough cause has remained unaltered, a position that will not change no matter what happens at Wolves.

“I’ve thought ‘do I want to do this’ from about a week after getting the job,” said Southgate. “But the reality when I wake up the next morning is always ‘there’s a great challenge there’. And I don’t walk away from challenges.

“Myself, Steve (Gibson) and Keith (Lamb) know the circumstances the club is in at the moment, and we have to manage the resource we have and get results with it.

“It’s been an incredible turnaround from beating Aston Villa (in November) and being about three points behind them, to all the distractions and various things that have contrived to put us into this run of form that we’ve had.

“The challenge is different now to what it was six or eight weeks ago, and the target has changed. But the challenge is just as great. Maybe it’s even more challenging and more energy-draining. But that’s the job, and I’m determined to do it.”

Earlier in the week, Southgate claimed he would not be taking his position for granted, despite the closeness of his relationship with Gibson.

Boro’s chairman has subsequently provided assurances that his manager is safe, and Southgate claims the strength of the bond between boardroom and dressing room is a major positive given the club’s position close to the foot of the Premier League table.

“I don’t really seek him (Gibson) out and I think he feels at times that you have to learn and make your own mistakes,”

he said. “But you get a guiding hand from time to time and a supportive call when things are difficult.

“There are enough people at a football club that if things weren’t operating in the correct way on a day to day basis, word would soon get back to the chairman or the chief executive.

I think that’s why they’re happy the staff here are doing what they should be. But we have to turn the results around.”

That process begins today, and while Wolves’ position at the top of the Championship makes them difficult opponents, Boro have overcome similarly stiff challenges in the past.

“We’ve had a lot of similar FA Cup matches,” said Southgate.

“We beat teams like West Brom and Bristol City when they were going well.

We’re not going into uncharted territory.

“We know the expectation of the Wolves crowd will be high, and we know their players will want to prove themselves against us. But we have to stand up to that challenge and take it on.”