I’m at Boro for the long haul, insists Southgate

GARETH SOUTHGATE has promised he will not use his club Middlesbrough as a management “stepping stone”.

The 37-year-old has spent the last two years learning his trade after being handed the chance to launch his managerial career by chairman Steve Gibson. He freely admits it has been a voyage of discovery, but he has no plans to cut and run to a bigger club once he has established himself.

Southgate said: “I’m thinking long-term, I’m not using this as a stepping stone for something else. If I’m here in five years, then brilliant because that means we are doing it right.”

Southgate’s predecessor, Steve McClaren, was head-hunted by England after guiding the Teessiders to their first major trophy and the UEFA Cup final.

But Southgate has set about the task of stamping his own mark on the club he represented with such distinction as a player, and no more so than during this summer.

The former England defender insisted in the wake of last season’s difficulties, which saw Boro cement their place in the Premier League only on the penultimate weekend of the campaign for the second successive year, that things had to change.

To that end, he read out his mission statement to his players following their return to pre-season training, outlining the way in which he intends to move things forward.

Speaking as he prepared his team for the friendly clash with Celtic in Portugal, Southgate said: “When the players came back, we wanted to set the tone for how the club is going to run this year and beyond.

“I felt that too many times over the first two years of my management, I had to compromise principles because we had to make short-term decisions on players.

“The speed of change had to be very delicately managed because if you change things too quickly, you can have huge problems. Lots of things about the way we work, I didn’t necessarily approve of, but also you learn as you go along what works and what doesn’t.

“Certainly, the principles and values we have as a club, I wanted to set in stone. It’s a special club because of the stability. We have got an English owner who comes from the town and who is thinking long-term, and I am very much thinking long-term.

“Now is the process of putting the work in place.”

Meanwhile, Boro have handed a first professional contract to central midfielder Richie Smallwood.

The 17-year-old Redcar-born player has signed a three-year deal after impressing at youth and reserve team level and being capped by England’s Under-18s.