Southgate smashed the club's transfer record in January when he paid Heerenveen £12.7million for Brazilian striker Afonso Alves.

Now chairman Steve Gibson has vowed to do all he can to bring some of the world's biggest stars to Teesside as he attempts to make his dream for the club a reality.

Boro have repeatedly punched above their weight in that respect in recent years with Gibson funding swoops for the likes of Juninho, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Paul Merson in the past.

However, they are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Barclays Premier League table and need a victory over struggling Bolton on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) to end their fears of being dragged into the relegation fight.

Southgate knows the club's current position is not necessarily a bar to their recruitment plans, but is equally aware how an improvement over the remaining weeks of the season could make the job easier.

He said: "Certainly, we have got to show that we can play good football, that we can win matches and that we can build a club which does attract top players - but the club has been able to do that over the years.

"We have got to get the right types of players here - the biggest ones aren't necessarily the right ones for any given club at any given time.

"We are clear, the chairman, myself and (chief executive) Keith Lamb, on the way we want to progress things.
"But that's the longer-term view - the focus this week is beating Bolton."

Boro will head into Saturday's game having lost midfielder Gary O'Neil for the rest of the season.

The £5million signing was suspended for the next two games anyway, but has undergone surgery on a lateral knee ligament injury.

Southgate said: "He has had a super first season for us. He has given us a lot of stability down that right-hand side - he and Luke Young have formed a good partnership.

"But he will certainly be back into training in the middle of pre-season, or hopefully the start of pre-season."