Steve Gibson has sought to silence Middlesbrough's disaffected supporters by insisting that he is not about to sack Gareth Southgate.
Votes of confidence do not come more genuine than those issued by Boro's chairman and today's offered a staunch endorsement of his struggling manager. Moreover Gibson, who revealed Southgate was giving "blood, sweat and tears" to the cause, claimed that a change at the top would not serve as a "magic wand" capable of staving off relegation at a stroke.
With only one win in 18 Premier League games, Southgate's side are second bottom of the table and remain the division's lowest scorers but Gibson's faith in the manager he plucked from Boro's dressing room three years ago appears undimmed. "I've spoken with a lot of fans over the past few weeks and they ask me about Gareth Southgate," Gibson said. "But the magic wand in our situation isn't sacking Gareth Southgate.
"Of course everybody has their opinion in football and I understand the frustration of the fans. I've always said we have a knowledgeable crowd and you have to respect them. I take on board the views of the fans because I care as much as they do but, if I was to sack Gareth Southgate at this stage, how would it help the situation?"
Moreover Gibson would like nothing better than for the former England defender to confound his doubters. "The one thing I know is that Gareth Southgate is hurting as well," said Boro's chairman who was dismayed to hear travelling fans chant "We want Southgate sacked" in the wake of the team's 1–0 defeat at Stoke City last Saturday.
"I know how much our situation is hurting him," added Gibson. "But I also see the hard work he is putting in all day, every day of the week and I know that things are being done the right way.
"But it doesn't matter how much preparation is put in during the week, once the game kicks off any manager is limited in what he can do to influence the result. And the result is everything."
Gibson, though, knows that by asking Southgate to trim the wage bill by £7m last summer he effectively demanded he work with one hand tied behind his back. "Gareth has great experience of football and he is working to the best of his ability to turn things round. When he was a player he worked immensely hard to make himself a better player. He does exactly the same as a manager. I couldn't expect any more from him in terms of blood, sweat and tears.
"We can't always put what happens on the pitch fully on Gareth's shoulders and that's why we have to share the workload and the responsibility. When things go wrong, people lose faith in the manager. But there's a lot more involved and we must always continue to look at the wider picture before coming to decisions."
