Boro - Mido going nowhere

Southgate insists striker is not for sale

Last updated: 1st September 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Boro - Mido going nowhere

Mido: Very emotional

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Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has rejected claims striker Mido could be set for a transfer deadline day move.

The Egypt international tossed his shirt into the Riverside crowd at the end of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Stoke.

Mido is known to be unhappy not to have secured a place in Southgate's starting XI despite scoring against Tottenham, Liverpool and Yeovil in his opening three matches.

Some observers took his actions at the end of the weekend clash as a sign that he could be set to move on from Teesside.

But Southgate insists the former Tottenham forward is very much part of his long-term plans in the North East.

And having held talks with a player he admits is 'very emotional', the Boro boss is confident they can put the matter behind them.

Feelings

He said: "The shirt's a good souvenir for someone.

"Mido's definitely on board. I had a very good chat with him on Friday. He's a very emotional lad and he wants to play.

"He obviously feels that having scored three goals in three games, he deserves the right to start.

"He's made his case and his attitude has been excellent. He tries very hard to disguise his feelings but we love him to bits.

"There weren't any real inquiries for him anyway. There was a call from Steve Bruce at Wigan but it was all a bit tentative and dependent on other things happening.

"I made it very clear to Mido I wanted him here and, as a club, we weren't prepared to let him go.

"Mido's performances have been excellent, so it wouldn't make any logic for us as a club to lose a player of that ability."