Southgate thanks Gibson
30 Dec 2007 - 15:49:06
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has thanked his chairman Steve Gibson for continuing to back him.
Boro have endured a mixed campaign but crucial recent victories against Arsenal, Derby County and 1-0 at Portsmouth on Saturday have kept Southgate's side out of the relegation zone.
The former Aston Villa star now believes his new-look side is starting to come together, but knows he is fortunate to have such a patient chairman.
Southgate said after the Fratton Park success: "I'm lucky to have a chairman who looks at how the club is being run as a whole, not just at Saturday's results. Other chairmen might not have stuck by me.
"When things aren't going well - especially when an element of the crowd got at me after we lost at home to Villa - he comes under pressure because people see me as a weakness.
"It's my first job in management. I want to deliver results to repay his faith. Steve is a very successful businessman and he's obviously seen something in me that he thinks can make it work.
"The world of football is very fickle - one minute you're useless, the next you're a hero. The main thing I've learned in my first 18 months of being a manager is not to get carried away with the hysteria, whether it's for you or against you."
