Middlesbrough Football Club News

• Nickname:Boro
• Founded:1876
• Manager:Tony Mowbray

• Ground:Riverside Stadium
• Capacity:35,049

Southgate prioritises midfield

09 Dec 2008 - 14:26:37

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Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate hopes to increase his midfield options in next month's transfer window.

However, Southgate is only too aware that he does not have much money at his disposal to strengthen his squad in the current economic climate.

"We have one or two positions which are a priority," he said. "We're a little bit light in the middle of the park in terms of experience and cover.

"We might look at bringing in more experience but, whoever it is, they have to be of the right quality.

"But overall I feel we are a club that need to try to grab players before they are big names.

"The signings we made during the summer show the way we're trying to go. We've been delighted with Didier Digard and Justin Hoyte and we still feel there's much more to come from Marvin Emnes.

"The chairman and I are in agreement. We've got to build steadily. We know we can't throw a lot of money down, so there has to be a balance.

"We've had to do that throughout my time here, but I'm not under any pressure to sell players. We will look at any potential loans or free transfers that may improve us."