O'Neil raring to go

O'Neil: Fully committed

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Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O'Neil is determined to put a difficult period behind him and 'have a real go' with the Teessiders.

The key player started his Boro career brightly after joining for £5million from Portsmouth on deadline day last August.

But he became unsettled in the second part of the season, and he then needed to have an operation to repair knee ligament damage.

This led to speculation that he could leave but he has committed his future to the club after talks with boss Gareth Southgate.

Difficult spell

He said: "I had a difficult spell towards the end of last season, but football-wise, it had been fantastic for me here and I was desperate to try to sort it out.

"Thankfully, we have and I am pleased I am going to be here this year and have a real go at it.

"Obviously, the start of the season was a better start for me - the second part, it was just one of those things when I was trying to get through it.

"But now I am hopefully going to get back to full fitness after my knee injury.

Settled

"It has been a good pre-season for me so far, and now that I am happy and settled and I am not having to travel up and things like that, hopefully this is going to get me back to where I want to be."

O'Neil said it had proved difficult initially to settle his family in the north at such short notice.

He told the club's official website: "We had a baby that was two, three months old when the move came about. I was told in a day that I was going from one end of the country to the other.

"But no excuses, we have got to do it. Thankfully, I have got it all sorted now and we are very settled, so this season is going to be a good season."

He is now close to resuming full training and hopes to play some part in the club's pre-season trip to Portugal next week.