Source: Telegraph
Middlesbrough captain Gary O'Neil has golfing as well as promotion aspirations
The former Portsmouth midfielder is setting his sights on winning a place at next summer's British Open and is keen to pit his wits against other leading members of the golfing fraternity in the qualifying competition for the major tournament.[LNB]'Qualification takes place at the London club where I am a member in either May or June next year and I would really like to put myself forward to see how I get on,' said O'Neil, 26.[LNB]Premier League transfer guide 2009'I love a round of golf when I get the chance, although I have not played much since my recent hernia operation I have played on the new Rockliffe course next to our training ground and really enjoyed that.[LNB]'I find golf very relaxing and a real contrast from football. It helps to take your mind off things particularly if results are going badly It's a different focus and that is one of the reasons I enjoy golf.'[LNB]That is for the future, though, because he will be vital to Boro's hopes of bouncing back into the Premier League at the first attempt following relegation last season.[LNB]The Bromley-born former England Under-21 international was appointed captain in place of centre-half David Wheater following Gordon Strachan's arrival as manager and is relishing the responsibility.[LNB]'It is an absolute honour to captain a club as big as Middlesbrough,' O'Neil added.[LNB]'I am loving every minute of it. The manager made me aware that he was considering me for the job.[LNB]'Organising things like the Christmas party can be quite time-consuming but the off-the-field stuff is fun. I enjoy taking responsibility. I've always tended to be one of the more vocal members of the team as well.'[LNB]O'Neil, who skippered the England Under-21s, is aiming to put his experience to good use to bolster Boro's Championship promotion campaign which continues when Cardiff visit the Riverside on Sunday.[LNB]He helped Portsmouth amass 98 points during their promotion campaign seven years ago and so he knows a thing or two about sustaining upward mobility.[LNB]'I may have been a young lad at the time but there were a lot of players in that team who were over 30 such as Paul Merson, Tim Sherwood and Steve Stone' O'Neil said.[LNB]'It's difficult to get the right blend of youth and experience but that is what our new gaffer is trying to do and that is what we need most to get promoted.[LNB]'We haven't lost matches because of a lack of talent or effort but at times inexperience has cost us.[LNB]'Teams such as Newcastle, who are doing so well at the moment, have probably got the balance right. They know how to win matches even when they are not playing well.[LNB]'They have a lot of players with Premier League experience and that is vital. Players such as Kevin Nolan and Nicky Butt have played in the top-flight all their careers and that stands them in good stead.'[LNB]Despite his club's poor form under Strachan, O'Neil is refusing to rule out automatic promotion.[LNB]'IF you are around 10 points off the pace in the Premier League there is a mountain to climb but teams lose a lot of games in our division,' O'Neil concluded.[LNB]'Wolves lost 11 games last season and still won the title. If we get on a good run and win a few games in a row we can get right up there with Newcastle and West Brom.[LNB]'We are perfectly capable of doing that and I wouldn't rule us out of those automatic promotion spots.'[LNB]
