The 25-year-old defender is already looking forward to the forthcoming campaign just days after suffering the disappointment of Austria's elimination from the finals of Euro 2008.

He is convinced with strikers Afonso Alves and Tuncay Sanli now firing on all cylinders, the Teessiders can drag themselves into the top 10 and set their sights on making a significant impact.

Pogatetz, who has been confirmed as skipper by manager Gareth Southgate, said: "Gareth wants to raise the standards at the club and I am committed to helping him in every way I can.

"Of course the top 10 is possible next season - and I see no reason why we can't go on to do even better than that.

"I think the biggest problem last season was that we got off to such a slow start.

"If we can establish ourselves in the top half of the table early on in the season, then we will give ourselves a much better chance of still being there come May."

Pogatetz is confident the club's fans will see much more from record £12.7million signing Alves after he has a pre-season campaign under his belt, and is excited at the prospect of his partnership with Tuncay.

England winger Stewart Downing finished as top scorer at the end of the last campaign, but the Austrian expects him to face much stiffer competition this time around.

He said: "Afonso is more settled in the area now and by the end of last season, you could see just how much he had adjusted to the type of football over here.

"He will definitely score plenty of goals for us next season. He is such a natural finisher - give him half a chance, and he puts it away.

"Tuncay has had a full season to get used to the Premier League and I think he will score loads of goals too.

"Having a good tournament for Turkey in the European Championship will boost his confidence even more.

"I think Boro fans will see what a fantastic player he really is next season.

"If those two can stay injury-free, I am certain they will have a massive impact for us."

Pogatetz, a £1.8million Steve McClaren signing from Bayer Leverkusen in June 2005, has already achieved the status of cult hero at the Riverside Stadium with a series of committed displays.

He was honoured to lead the side as last season drew to a close, and had spoken of his pride at being asked to do the job on a permanent basis.

He added: "Being made captain is a great achievement for me and it is good to know that the gaffer has faith in me to do the job."