Sat 4th Oct - JJB Stadium
Last updated: 16th July 2008
O'Neil: Fully committed
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.
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.
"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.
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 18th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Middlesbrough vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 25th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Blackburn vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs West Ham |
| Sunday 16th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Everton vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Bolton |
| Saturday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 13th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 20th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Middlesbrough |
| Friday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Everton |
| Saturday 10th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Sunderland |
| Saturday 17th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Brom vs Middlesbrough |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 4th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 0 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 1 West Brom | |
| Tuesday 23rd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Man Utd 3 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 20th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 2 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Portsmouth 2 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 30th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Tuesday 26th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Middlesbrough 5 - 1 Yeovil | |
| Saturday 23rd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Tottenham | |
| Friday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Sparta Rotterdam 1 - 6 Middlesbrough | |
| Tuesday 5th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Darlington 0 - 5 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Hibernian 2 - 3 Middlesbrough | |
| Tuesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Carlisle 1 - 2 Middlesbrough | |
| Thursday 24th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Guimaraes | |
| Tuesday 22nd July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Celtic | |
| Friday 18th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| York 2 - 2 Middlesbrough | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 7 | 10 |
| 11 | Manchester City | 7 | 9 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 7 | 9 |
| 13 | Wigan Athletic | 7 | 8 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 7 | 8 |
The first weekend of October in the Premier League finds harmony in performance analysis.
Charlie Nicholas says Middlesbrough's centre-backs deserve all of the plaudits after their 1-0 win at Wigan.
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate admits Tuncay Sanli is champing at the bit to return to action.
Middlesbrough defender Robert Huth will see a specialist on Monday to assess his ankle injury.
Gareth Southgate has promised Ross Turnbull and Brad Jones that he will be looking at their contract situations.
Lampard & Gerrard, record wins, new foes and Under 21 info. Martin Tyler is all over England this week...
Man Utd and Arsenal's Boxing Day games will be shown live as part of Sky Sports' festive fixtures.