The Boro boss admits certain players would "try it on" when he took charge as a rookie nearly two years ago but he has slowly put his own imprint on the club.

Mark Viduka and Aiyegbeni Yakubu left at the end of Southgate's first season but the rest have bought into the manager's philosophy and determination to improve standards.

"Nobody leaves the club unless we think it is the right thing for the future of the club," said Southgate. "Hopefully they can see what we are trying to do.

"A couple of boys wanted to move on last summer and sometimes you can't hold them. You have to keep evolving anyway.

"The two strikers got us out of jail last year on many occasions but the overall team is stronger because everyone is having to contribute."

Southgate's learning curve in his first two years as a manager has been steep but he has emerged as a homegrown boss of huge potential.

He was told a year ago, while taking his manager qualifications, that the average job lasts 18 months.

"I knew it was a one-year course and I had been on the job a year," he said. "It didn't look promising for finishing the course, never mind anything else."

Southgate also knew it was not just the fans he had to prove himself to.

He added: "The guys who have played, with the youngsters coming through, some try it on a bit and some are taking a step back to say 'is he up to it?'

"Only by good results and making the right decisions can you prove that."

In the last month he has looked every inch a Barclays Premier League boss - pushing Chelsea to the limit, going eyeball-to-eyeball with Sir Alex Ferguson and giving his players a dressing down at half-time against Tottenham.

"At half-time we got a rollicking because they were all over us at times," said winger Stewart Downing.

It had the desired effect, with Downing grabbing the equaliser at White Hart Lane to cancel out Jon Grounds' own goal.

Presumably not on the UEFA Pro License syllabus is celebrating goals as Southgate's jump for joy had the Boro boss cringing after the final whistle.

"I probably don't want to see it again," he admitted.

The point edged Boro towards a mid-table finish as Southgate continues on his mission to improve the club.

"In the last few years we've been able to do enough and won the games when we've had to," he said. "We want to change that. That means raising the standards across the board.

"One of the great things we've had to deal with is the negative expectations at the start of the season. We sold our two strikers and locally there was a lot of doom and gloom.

"When we got injuries to our other strikers we didn't cope with that and it became a downward spiral of negative thoughts.

"We've shown that we are more than capable of competing in this league. There is still a lot of work to be done between now and the end of the season but we have a stronger platform to build from then we had at this time last season."

As well as chairman Steve Gibson, the players appear to be on board.

Downing added: "It is a tough job for him but he has done well. He has to be ruthless and I think he has done brilliantly.

"We see the other side of him when we have not played well against the other team and he is not afraid to make decisions."