Buoyant Boro are looking up

GARETH SOUTHGATE has urged Middlesbrough to aim high after Jeremie Aliadiere all but banished any lingering relegation fears on Teesside.

Boro’s fifth Premier League game without defeat moved them seven points clear of the drop zone and above local rivals Newcastle into 12th place.

But while Southgate would never be nonchalant enough to insist his side’s survival battle is over, he is anxious his players look to rise into the top half of the table rather than looking over their shoulders.