Southgate maintains belief

02 May 2009 16:38
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is refusing to accept that his side are already down. Boro battle against the drop is looking precarious following their latest defeat to Manchester United. Goals in each half from Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung won the points for United at The Riverside. But Southgate with his side three points adrift with just three games of the season left - he is insistent they can still stay up. Although he acknowledges their next match away at rivals Newcastle is a must win game. "We have to go to Newcastle now and deal with the atmosphere there," he said. "For us in some respects, it is possibly the last throw of the dice because we need the momentum of a win there to carry into the last couple of games. "The reality is, as I have said for a number of weeks, that we have to go to Newcastle and win. "As a group of players and staff, we have to consign today to history. "The last two weeks, we have been looking for a miracle, really, to get a result against the two teams we have been up against. "Now we have realistic opportunities and we have to take them. "We have got it all to do - but we have known that from probably 10 weeks ago."

Source: SKY_Sports