Chairman Steve Gibson remains grounded as Middlesbrough push for promotion
Wednesday 10 February 2016 13:29, UK
Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is refusing to take anything for granted as the club closes in on a return to the Barclays Premier League after seven years away.
Gibson saw the Teessiders climb back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship table with a 1-1 draw at MK Dons on Tuesday evening, but is not allowing himself to get too excited just yet.
He told Middlesbrough Council's publication, Love Middlesbrough: "We will get back to the Premier League and hopefully it will be this year, though there is still a long way to go.
"I'm not thinking about the Premier League yet - I remember under Tony Mowbray, we were top at Christmas and finished 16th. The Championship is extremely competitive and the quality of players in the Championship is very high.
"Our annual wage bill now is £22m and we have squad players who earn more as individuals than the whole of the squad combined that won promotion in 1995. I believe it is harder to win promotion than to stay in the Premiership."
Gibson also admitted his regret at selling homegrown midfielder Lee Cattermole, currently at Sunderland, to Wigan in July 2008, claiming the club would not have been relegated at the end of the following season had he remained at the Riverside Stadium.
