Southgate ready to go down passing

A frenzied relegation battle is no place for a purist, which is one of the reasons why Middlesbrough’s band of travelling supporters left this ground with faces longer than the Tees on Saturday.

Gareth Southgate, the Boro manager, will win plenty of popularity contests thanks to his courteous, articulate manner and penchant for fluent football, but it is his failure to win points which has cost the north-east club so dear this season.

Not that Southgate — whose side is four points from safety with eight games to play — is about to abandon his principles.