Southgate hails Downing

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has paid tribute to the form and attitude of Stewart Downing. Downing expressed a desire to leave Boro during the transfer window after Tottenham expressed an interest in his services.The England international handed in a transfer request at the Riverside which was rejected by the club.Boro fought hard to keep hold of the 24-year-old and Southgate has praised Downing for getting over the disappointment of not winning a move to Spurs and knuckling down to hard work for Boro."He's never been a problem for us," said Southgate. "His attitude to things is great and he's a Middlesbrough lad who wants Middlesbrough to do well."He's frustrated as everyone is that we haven't been able to match other clubs in the transfer market but that is the reality of the situation we have.Determination"His determination is to make sure we come out of the spell we've had."Downing, who was employed in a central role, opened the scoring at Upton Park on Saturday in the FA Cup fifth-round clash against West Ham - his first strike of the season."He's played in that role a few times for us and he's been excellent," Southgate said. "One of the reasons we've been able to do it is the good form of Adam Johnson on the left."It gives us another creative player in midfield, with pace to run at teams from deep."

Source: SKY_Sports