Source: SKY_Sports
Southgate wants second chance
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is hoping the 2010/11 campaign will see him managing in the Premier League once again.
The former England international suffered the heartache of relegation out of the top flight last term, bringing an end to an
11-year stint for the club at that level.
The inevitable exodus of star men duly followed over the summer, making Boro's hopes of securing an immediate return all the more difficult.
The North East outfit remained among the pre-season favourites for the Championship crown, but Southgate was left with a
relatively inexperienced side with which to work.
Any fears that the youngsters would struggle to cope with the demands of life in the second tier have been laid to rest, though, and Boro have now set their sights on securing promotion back into the big time at the first attempt.
"We have brought the players together that we have currently got here in the squad for a reason," Southgate told the Evening Gazette.
"I always look at the long-term in any decision I make.
"One of them is to ensure that I do not leave the club in a financial mess, which creates a situation which Portsmouth have struggled to deal with.
"We are stronger financially now than we were last season and we are stronger as a club.
"You have to manage for the long-term and that is what I am doing.
"I don't want a load of 30-year-olds. I felt we needed a different kind of team here and that is what we have tried to do.
"I want promotion this season. I want to get this club back into the Premier League. We are good enough to be there or thereabouts.
"Once we are back in the Premier League, we can think about it, but we have a developing squad here and a progressive one."
