Source: Eurosport
Lamb admits Boro had wrong blend
Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has admitted the club were "found out" last season but believes they are strong enough to bounce back.
The Teessiders will spend next season in the Coca-Cola Championship after an 11-year stay in the Barclays Premier League ended in relegation last month. Lamb concedes the club may have paid the price for placing too much faith in their youth set-up, impressive though that is.
A number of homegrown products featured throughout the season but Gareth Southgate's side lacked experience following the departures of Mark Schwarzer and George Boateng.
"I don't think it is all about youth development," Lamb said. "I think Gareth would acknowledge that if we made a mistake last year it was we didn't have some older players in the squad. We relied a little too much on youth and perhaps we got found out in the end."
Lamb expects a number of players to move on but is sure Southgate will mould a new team capable of challenging for promotion at the first attempt.
"We are more than confident," he said. "We know that we are in sound financial health and that the club will survive this relegation. We will not go into freefall as a number of other clubs have over the last few years."
