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BRISTOL CITY v MIDDLESBROUGH - SOUTHGATE KEEPING THE FAITH
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will embark upon his second FA Cup campaign as a manager on Saturday with the Barclays Premier League still giving him headaches.
Boro head for a third round tie at in-form Coca-Cola Championship side Bristol City looking to bounce back from their midweek disappointment at home to Everton as their league campaign continues to fluctuate between the impressive and the disappointing.
The two sides met in the fourth round last season when the Teessiders needed a replay and a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory at the Riverside Stadium to edge past Gary Johnson's side.
Southgate's men enjoyed an extended run in the competition, finally going out 1-0 to Manchester United in a quarter-final replay at Old Trafford, their eighth game of the cup campaign.
This time around, their main focus continues to be the Premier league, where a 2-0 defeat by Everton took the edge of their 1-0 win at Portsmouth three days earlier and left them just three points clear of the drop zone in 15th place.
That is a situation which does not unduly concern the manager, who is confident his squad has what it takes to avoid the scrap at the foot of the table.
However, that will not prevent him from trying to strengthen during the transfer window which opened on New Year's Day, and he is adamant that none of his players can take their presence in the team for granted.
Southgate said: "I have to say I have terrific faith in my players. I feel I have to work with all of them and they all have a part to play.
"But if the feeling is that they have to perform to stay in the side and in the squad, that's correct.
"But as a manager, it is for me to take the pressure and for them to go out and play their hearts out."
Southgate has worked hard to reshape his squad after losing star strikers Mark Viduka and Ayegbeni Yakubu during the summer transfer window, and while he is happy there are still goals in his team - the pair contributed 35 between them last season - they have been in short supply.
Boro have not scored more than twice in a game all season, and have managed only nine goals in their last 15 games in all competitions.
With clean sheets at a premium too - they have collected only five in 23 attempts to date - the reasons for the club's rollercoaster fortunes are clear.
However, Southgate cannot fault the efforts of his players and firmly believes they will eventually achieve the consistency he requires from them.
He said: "The great thing I have got is a group of players who have given absolutely everything.
"When you are losing, people can always level that against you, but certainly, there have not been too many occasions when as a manager, I could question the level or work-rate of the team."
By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
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