He went on to say that James Morrison would have a key role to play this season.
A 56th minute goal from Jimmy Flloyd secured the victory (ten minutes after coming on the pitch) in a game where again Boro were better in the second half than the first. This was partly because the right hand side of the pitch failed to perform in the first 45 minutes but changes suddenly clicked it into life.
Morrison and Tony McMahon came on, with Reiziger moving to left-back and Queudrue shifting to central defence to replace Southgate, and Boro looked a lot sharper.
Boro Team:
Schwarzer, Reiziger, Southgate McMahon 46), Bates, Queudrue, Mendieta (Morrison 46), Parlour, Boteng, Downing (Maccarone 79), Viduka (Hasselbaink 46), Yakubu