Gareth's no drop out

Hendrie: says Southgate will stay

If he gets a good sum of money allied to the parachute money and spends it on experienced players who can play at Championship level then there's no reason why they can't be competing.

John Hendrie
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• Middlesbrough

Former Middlesbrough star John Hendrie has backed Gareth Southgate to stay at the helm, despite the club's relegation.

Middlesbrough's 11-year stay in the top division of English football came to an end on Sunday afternoon when Southgate's side were relegated to the Championship with the worst goalscoring record in the Premier League this season.

However, former Boro forward Hendrie believes the club's chairman Steve Gibson will stand by his manager and give him funds to ensure the club bounce back at the first attempt next season.

"I think he will stay," Hendrie told Sky Sports News.

"I think Steve Gibson's a very, very loyal chairman and he's stood by his managers in previous years, such as Steve McClaren and Bryan Robson.

"This summer he'll get parachute money and money from a few sales - Stewart Downing may move on, maybe Robert Huth, maybe David Wheater.

"If he gets a good sum of money allied to the parachute money and spends it on experienced players who can play at Championship level then there's no reason why they can't be competing at Christmas time.

"I think Steve will stand by him."

Decline

Hendire suggested Middlesbrough's decline can be traced all of the way back to last summer and some of the club's decision in the transfer market.

He said the failure to replace key players such as Mark Schwarzer, Lee Cattermole and George Boateng - plus the lack of a consistent goalscorer - explains why Boro found themselves in the bottom three.

"A lot of big decisions were made last summer," he added.

"Mark Schwarzer left and they failed to replace him, they've been using two understudies. Also they've missed both Cattermole and Boateng, two combative midfield players.

"And last but not least they spent a lot of money on Afonso Alves and the key factor has been up front. They've scored 28 goals this season and that speaks for itself, that's not good enough."