Gareth Southgate denies Middlesbrough feud with Manchester United

Manchester United's hard fought 1-0 win was an ill-tempered affair with Pogatetz and Ronaldo having a running battle after the Austrian appeared to grab the United player by the throat when a corner was being taken. The two players continued their dispute in to the tunnel at half-time with Ronaldo barging Pogatetz and team-mates having to separate them. The incident was the latest in a string of flashpoints in matches between the clubs and Southgate and Sir Alex Ferguson have exchanged cross words in the past. Earlier this year, Pogatetz enraged the United manager with a knee-high lunge on Rodrigo Possebon in a Carling Cup tie that resulted in the Austrian being sent off. But Southgate insists that there is no grudge borne by his club and the notion of a running dispute is wide of the mark. 'Suggestions that there is a feud between the two clubs is nonsense,' said Southgate. "And as far as I'm concerned there's no way there's any bad feeling at all. 'We have the greatest respect for United and everything they have achieved.'The result of Monday night's game, United's fourth single-goal victory in six matches, left the reigning champions seven points behind leaders Liverpool, with two games in hand. Middlesbrough only remain outside the relegation places by virtue of a better goal difference than Stoke.

Source: Telegraph