David Wheater insists Middlesbrough need to stay up if he wants to show his face in his hometown.
Defender has local incentive to fight the drop
David Wheater insists Middlesbrough need to stay up if he wants to show his face in his hometown.
22-year-old Wheater hails from seaside town Redcar and has made huge strides in the last few years.
Having been on loan at Darlington less than two years ago, he has become a first-team regular at The Riverside and has also broken into Fabio Capello's England squad.
But Wheater's thoughts at the moment are aimed at helping his beloved Middlesbrough retain their Premier League status.
"I definitely don't want to be part of a Boro side that goes down - I won't be able to go out in Redcar again!" he quipped.
"I obviously don't want to go down, it's not good for any footballer and especially when it's with your hometown team as well.
"None of us want to go down and I'm confident that we won't.
"I think we've got miles more quality than the teams around us all over the park.
"We just need to start sticking our chances away and I think we will be fine.
"The table is so tight that with a couple of wins you can be up to 10th quickly."
Full-back okay
Centre-half Wheater has been forced into a right-back role at various times this season and he admits he is willing to continue in that role.
"I don't care where I play any more," he said.
"I had a bit of a moan early in the season about playing right-back but I'm 22 now so I just need to be playing wherever it is.
"I want to play for the team so if it's right-back I'm playing I don't really mind."
Wheater retains his hopes of becoming an England regular despite not being included in the squad to face Spain.
"I was hoping to make the England squad but I wasn't really expecting it," he said.
"Obviously it would be nice but I just need to start picking my performances up here first and see what happens.
"Any English player should want to be playing for the England team. If they say they aren't bothered I think you are talking to a liar.
"That's what you want to be aiming for but first you need to be playing well for your club."
Meanwhile, the club have confirmed that highly-rated defender Seb Hines has agreed a new two-and-a-half year contract at the club.
