Source: Northern_Echo
Which way now for Boro boss?
GARETH Southgate accepts that his relationship with the Middlesbrough supporters has become fractured, but the under-fire boss insists he will not allow this week’s criticism to blow him off course as he attempts to steer the club back to the Premier League.
Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Leicester was accompanied by rancorous scenes at the Riverside, with a significant section of the home support calling for their manager’s head and booing their side from the field at the final whistle.
The abuse was a marked contrast to the adulation that was heaped on Southgate as a player, with the former centre- half having entered Teesside folklore as the only Middlesbrough skipper to lift a major trophy and endeared himself to the club’s supporters with his on-field cheerleading during the Steve Mc- Claren era.
Those days now seem like an eternity ago, but ahead of tomorrow’s crucial game at Reading, Southgate has defiantly insisted he will not be losing any sleep over his new pariah status.
“Clearly, my relationship with some of the supporters has changed,” said the Middlesbrough manager. “I’ve accepted that what happened in the past has gone. I have my own feelings on that but I’ll keep them to myself.
“I don’t need mollycoddling.
I’m a big bloke. I accept stick and I accept that’s the way it is. I have to get on with it.
“I don’t like the stick, I don’t think anybody likes standing and being abused, but it seems to be what happens now. You just get on with it.
“It won’t affect my feelings for the club or my desire to do well for it. It might tell me a bit about certain sections of the group that follows us, but I have to accept that.”
Nevertheless, Southgate believes that Tuesday’s frenzied reaction to the concession of an 83rd-minute goal was reflective of a wider footballing environment in which supporters are ever more quick to air their frustrations.
In the wake of this week’s defeat, the internet message boards and radio phone ins have been inundated with supporters urging Steve Gibson to dispense with Southgate’s services, a call that has so far fallen on deaf ears.
In the eyes of many supporters, Southgate was a dead man walking the moment he was unable to prevent Middlesbrough tumbling out of the top-flight, and while the manager accepts he will never win some fans round, he is disappointed at the vitriolic nature of some of this week’s abuse.
“The relationship between players, managers and fans has changed,” he said. “Everything’s changed in terms of the number of outlets for comment and opinion from sources that might not be as sober or experienced as some.
“Everybody has a voice now, and that voice can become public without any accountability.
“If somebody goes on the internet or phones in a radio station, it’s opinion without accountability, and sometimes without the background to why some of the decisions have been made.
“I don’t like personal abuse of anybody, but there’s something ironic about the way football works. We sing and chant about people losing their jobs, but if we stood outside the steelworks and did that, we’d get a slap round the chops.
“In the cold light of day, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve been through worse. But whether the criticism is deserved or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s there and I have to deal with it. I’m determined to get this club back into the Premier League and help this group of players, nothing else comes into my mind.”
Given the youthful nature of the current Middlesbrough squad, Southgate’s mentoring role is currently more important than ever.
The average age of Tuesday night’s starting line-up was a little over 23, and with the likes of Robert Huth and Tuncay Sanli having left the club during the August transfer window, experience is at a premium as the Teessiders attempt to end a three-game winless run.
One of the biggest criticisms levelled at Southgate is that he did not recruit some older heads when he had the opportunity to do so in the summer, but the Boro boss maintains that would have been the wrong thing to do given his long-standing belief in the value of youth.
“We have a very young team,” he said. “It’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation for why you get inconsistencies in performance. We could have asked for older players on more money, but that would have changed the whole philosophy and outlook.
“To a degree, our finances dictate that we have to stick to our philosophy. But also I think it gives the club an identity and a heartbeat. I think it’s important we give youngsters a chance because it gives us a pride in wearing the shirt.”
■ Middlesbrough’s home game with Cardiff City will now take place on Sunday, December 13 (ko 1.15pm).
