Bad Run But Bookies Get Off Southgate's Back!
Last updated : 26 December 2008 By Boro Mad
Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Fulham had Boro fans smarting over Christmas, which came just a week after they fought out a well-deserved 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
Some suggest the next two games could shape Southgate's season, but Everton at home and Manchester United at Old Trafford, are hardly three-point bankers.
Ex-Man Utd players Roy Keane and Paul Ince have left their respective posts at Sunderland and Blackburn in recent weeks, with Mark Hughes looking odds-on to complete the Man Utd hat-trick.
NEXT PREMIERSHIP MANAGER TO GO:
Mark Hughes 5/4
Gianfranco Zola 3/1
Tony Adams 5/1
Tony Mowbray 11/2
Steve Bruce 12/1
Joe Kinnear 14/1
Roy Hodgson 16/1
Gary Megson 16/1
Gareth Southgate 16/1
Southgate: "Pressure is what you put on yourself. I don't concern myself about external pressure because there is nothing you can do about that.
"The one thing we have at this football club is a realism in terms of what we can achieve with the funds we have.
"We are reducing our costs at a time when others are pouring millions into their clubs, so it is a very difficult situation for us, but one which - if we had had a positive result on Saturday - we would have been in the top half of the table and there would be a much brighter outlook.
"We understand how emotions work in football - one good or bad result either way throws people completely on to a different path, and we demand more after a disappointment like Saturday because of the nature of the performance.
"But we know what we are trying to achieve and we know how we achieve that. Listen, if we don't get the results and I am shown the door, I said last year, I would have no complaints.
"But I know the agenda that has been set, I know we are meeting a lot of the targets we are being asked to.
"We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we take our job very seriously.
"I see the lifespan of the average manager, but I don't feel pressure other than what I put on myself because I want to achieve.
"That's the nature of football and being a football manager. That was no different last year.
"We went 10 games without a win last year and we just dipped into the bottom three at one point.
"But we keep a calm head on things. We want to keep improving, but obviously we can't just wave a magic wand and find a load of money, so it is about getting the most out of what we have, and that will never change."