GARETH Southgate expects the current impasse over his lack of Premier League coaching qualifications to be "successfully resolved" within the next two weeks.

Southgate lacks the UEFA Pro Licence needed to manage in the top-flight and the three-month dispensation he was granted when he replaced Steve McClaren in the summer is due to expire on November 11.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson and chief executive Keith Lamb have been locked in talks with Premier League officials for more than two months.

They are trying to engineer a compromise that would allow Southgate to continue in his current post and placate Premiership chairmen worried about opening the door to managerial novices.

Those talks are understood to have led to the drafting of a possible new rule, which would enable managerial hopefuls with extensive international experience to work towards their coaching badges while they manage in the top-flight.

Premier League chairmen are expected to vote on the rule at the start of next month and, provided it receives the support of two-thirds of those present, it will enter the Premier League statute book ahead of Southgate's November 11 deadline.

"It's something that I've left to our chairman and Keith Lamb," said the Boro boss, who continues to enjoy the unwavering support of the club's hierarchy. "They're in talks with the Premier League and the FA and everybody seems to be trying to find the correct route forward.

"They've told me that the talks are going very well and I think there'll be a successful resolution. It's impossible for me to be 100 per cent certain because the honest answer is that I can't really know.

"But everybody seems to be committed to finding a route through this. I'm committed to continuing my education in terms of my coaching badges, and I'll just get on with the job I'm doing here. All of this gives me added motivation to make it work."

Should the Premier League chairmen fail to ratify Southgate's appointment, there is no question of Gibson hanging his preferred choice of manager out to dry.

Middlesbrough's current head coach, Steve Round, boasts a Pro Licence - enabling him to sign the Middlesbrough team-sheet before kick-off - and Gibson could even choose to appoint a more experienced coach as a notional "manager" even though Southgate would continue to perform all his current roles.

With some Premier League chairmen understood to be harbouring concerns over the former England international's elevation to the managerial ranks, recent reports had suggested that Southgate's complex contract situation could provide Gibson with a possible get-out clause should discussions hit a snag next week.

The confusion appears to have stemmed from the fact Southgate extended his existing contract in the summer rather than signing a completely new deal.

That arrangement reflected his desire to continue to be registered as a player, a viewpoint he has already been forced to alter thanks to his vastly increased workload.

"An issue has been raised because part of my contract is a playing contract and obviously I'm not playing any more," said Southgate. "That needs to change over, but it doesn't make any difference to anything else. Everything is signed - it's just a case of ripping my playing contract up really. I don't quite know why there's been a big thing about it.

"I have a five-year contract here and, as long as I keep getting results, that's the way it'll stay."

Meanwhile, Southgate has repeated his warning that Jonathan Woodgate is not yet ready for the rigours of international football.

Woodgate failed to make the squad for England's European Championships qualifiers against Macedonia and Croatia after Southgate warned Steve McClaren that his fitness levels were insufficient for three games in a week.

McClaren is currently pondering his squad selection for next month's friendly in Holland, with Woodgate's impressive early-season form leading to predictions of an international recall.

But while Southgate has been impressed with his centre-half's recent performances, he feels Woodgate's recent lay-off because of a dead leg has hampered his fitness drive.

"I don't really think anything has changed because Jonathan's been out since the last time England played," he said. "He's only had one game since then and he was pretty tired after it.

"We only have two more games before the next squad is announced and I would have said that after Christmas would be better for him. I think he's of that opinion as well.