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SUNDERLAND v MIDDLESBROUGH - SOUTHGATE: I HAD TO TAKE MY CHANCE
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has admitted neither he nor Sunderland counterpart Roy Keane could afford to pass up the opportunity to launch their management careers at the top.
Boro sprang a major surprise when they offered the former England defender the Riverside Stadium hotseat following Steve McClaren's departure for the England job two summers ago.
It was only a matter of weeks later that Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn persuaded his former Republic of Ireland team-mate that his future lay at the Stadium of Light.
This weekend, the pair, who in the past so often found themselves in opposition on the pitch, will go head to head for the second time as managers with both knowing a victory for their side would end their fears of relegation from the Premier League.
Southgate endured a baptism of fire last season when he guided the Teessiders to a creditable 12th-place finish, while Keane masterminded his side's charge to the Championship title.
This time around, the going has been a little tougher for both, perhaps providing ammunition for those who argued their respective clubs should have opted for greater experience.
However, Southgate, who will sit his UEFA pro-licence this summer after learning his trade on the job, is adamant that both men had to grab the chance when it came along rather than travel the more traditional route to the top flight.
He said: "It's very difficult. What is the ideal route? Nobody really knows what the ideal route is.
"The perception would be that you should take all of your courses, work your way up from the lower divisions and end up in the Premier League.
"But in life, you get opportunities and you get thrown into things and it is how you deal with it.
"I guess for both of us, we are determined characters and you want to make the best of the position you are in.
"From my point of view, I was given an opportunity that many other managers and coaches would have dreamt about for years and years, so you want to repay the faith of the chairman who has given you that opportunity."
Boro chairman Steve Gibson will be mightily relieved if his manager can deliver three points this weekend after investing heavily in the squad in the last year in an attempt to build for the future.
The two north-east clubs are locked together on 36 points, five clear of the drop zone with three games to play, and a draw on Wearside could yet prove to be enough to ensure both remain in the top flight.
However, Southgate will make the short trip up the A19 intent on nothing but victory, and knows Keane will have the same aim as he impresses his own hunger for success upon his players.
Asked how the experience will compare to facing the fiery former Manchester United captain during his playing days, he said: "He is no less competitive and no less driven.
He added with a smile: "Obviously, the physical aspect of it is taken out of it slightly.
"I have tremendous respect for him from his playing days and we were appointed at similar times to the two jobs we are in.
"With them being just up the road, it has been easy to keep an eye on the job he has been doing there and he is doing outstandingly well.
"He will be very satisfied with what they have done so far, but wanting to push on to the end of the season."
Meanwhile, Southgate confirmed that keeper Mark Schwarzer, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been contacted by potential suitors amid speculation that Bayern Munich are on his trail.
He said: "The situation is that, with Mark being in the last six months of his contract, clubs are allowed to approach him from abroad and I totally expected that to happen.
"He is a top-quality goalkeeper and an excellent professional, and I have got no issue with that at all.
"It is very difficult for us in the situation we are in to have those sort of conversations because we have to be focussed on the next game and getting the points we need.
"But Mark has to do what's right for him within that period of time as well."
By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
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