Southgate backs Ell Tel to turns things around

The knives are already out for Boro's former head coach following his indifferent introduction to the Elland Road hot-seat.

Venables today returns to Teesside for the first time since he completed a six-month mission to rescue Boro from relegation two seasons ago.

The ex-England coach is assured of a warm Riverside welcome after taking flak from a section of the Leeds faithful following last week's 1-0 home defeat by Liverpool.

Venables' men have lost half of their ten opening Premiership games.

But England defender Southgate, the villain of the piece when he missed in the penalty shoot-out which condemned Venables' England to defeat by Germany at Euro '96, has no doubt Leeds will recover under the man who bailed out former Boro boss Bryan Robson.

Southgate declared: "Terry will get it right at Leeds. He'll get them playing.

"It's a similar situation to what we had here last year. Steve McClaren is a top coach, but the fans were not happy about the results early on.

"Leeds are in a transition, but people want instant results. It's the way the game is now and managers have to deal with it.

"After their success in recent years, the expectation at Leeds is high.

"But the fans have to be patient and the results will turn quickly.

"I haven't played at club level for Terry, only with England, but everybody here talks about how quickly he turned things around.

"People talk about a crisis at Leeds but a coach of his calibre, and the way he works with players, will get it right, there's no question about that.

"He is under a bit of pressure, but everyone has to live with that. People say he has never won the title in this country, but he's got nothing to prove at all.

"The League is going to be very tight this year and Leeds will be one of the clubs up there at the end.

"Terry is fantastic to work with. He will challenge the players there and give them responsibility on the field.

"In Euro '96, it was like going on a summer coaching course with him and Don Howe - I learned so much.

"Terry gave me my England debut and made me feel very important as a player, playing me in two or three different positions.

"He is an outstanding coach, but we knew at the start of Euro '96 he would not be staying.

"It's a shame because he is an ideal person to be in charge of England. All the top players feel that way.

"I only played for him for one year at international level, but I owe him a lot.

"When I missed the penalty in Euro '96, he talked to me for five or ten minutes, even though he must have been disappointed himself. He didn't show that.

"I felt worse because of him and the other players. I felt I let everyone down.

"It got worse later when I realised some of them would never get a chance to win something with England again, including Terry.

"But he was quite philosophical about it."

Southgate added: "I would definitely not say we are playing Leeds at the right time.

"They have tremendous quality in people like Alan Smith, and it will be very tough.''

McClaren admits he owes a debt of gratitude to Venables for preserving Boro's top-flight status.

"I'm grateful to Terry,'' said McClaren.

"When he came here, they were bottom of the table.

"He had a relegation battle and kept Middlesbrough in the Premiership before I came here that summer.

"I know from my own experience last season that it's difficult when you come into a new club.

"But with the talent Leeds have, it won't be long before they are consistently winning games.''

Boro's four-match winning run in all competitions came to an abrupt halt with Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Charlton.

But Southgate said: "It's amusing that people are talking about that result as a shock.

"We are a different team this season with a different style and results will not flow straight away. There's a lot more to come.

"We have a lot bigger tests than Charlton coming up. At the start of the season, I'd say we were aiming for eighth place.

"We can achieve that and, if we get some good fortune and avoid serious injuries, maybe we could squeeze a bit higher.

"I'm pleased we're playing entertaining football, but it won't happen every week.

"When it gets to winter and the pitches change, we will have to grind out results sometimes.

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