Southgate aiming high

Southgate: Ambitious

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Gareth Southgate refuses to accept that Middlesbrough are incapable of closing the gap on the Premier League's top four.

The Boro boss recently saw his North East counterpart Kevin Keegan claim that his Newcastle side are a 'million miles away' from challenging the UEFA Champions League elite.

Boro would appear to be a similar distance adrift at present having finished 34 points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, but Southgate remains confident that the club have the capabilities to bridge that gap in the future.

Mentality

"I think what we have to say at this point in time is that we know we cannot compete with Manchester United," Southgate admitted in the Evening Gazette.

"But what we might say is 'can we breach that gap?' And I refuse to accept that we can't.

"It's not necessarily a case of spending a lot of money, it's about getting the right people in and having the right mentality.

"That has to be our aim as a club and I refuse to write off the possibility."

Achieve

Southgate has sought to beat the odds throughout his 20-year career in the game, and admits that it is that challenge which continues to drive him on after making the step into management.

"In life people tell you what you can't do and what you can't achieve," he said.

"People have told me I can't do this job and that they don't want me to do this job. But you've got to crack on and strive to be the best you can possibly be.

"And at this moment in time the best we can possibly be doesn't match the top four. But that's got to be the aim for everybody.

"If everybody writes it off and says we can't get there we might as well forget the league and do something else."