PAUL Ince's Middlesbrough days are numbered after the club told the player his contract will not be renewed at the end of the season.

Ince is now ready to finish his playing career in Italy, where he spent two years playing for Inter Milan before moving to Liverpool and then on to Boro during the summer of 1999.

The 33-year-old skipper had hoped to make Boro his last employers before retiring, but now he is focusing on signing for a Serie A club.

''Paul would have preferred to finish his playing career at Middlesbrough, where he has a great relationship with the players and supporters, but has been told his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of this season,'' said Ince's agent Steve Kutner.

''Paul still feels he can play at the top level for another couple of years. It is now likely that Paul will look to sign a pre-contract after Christmas, and that he will end his playing days with an emotional return to a Serie A side in Italy.''

This week both Boro manager Steve McClaren and coach Steve Harrison revealed that Ince was not making a move to Manchester City in the near future.

But news that the former England captain will not be retained is certain to alert a host of clubs hoping to acquire the services of the inspirational tough tackler who has been in tremendous form this season.

Meanwhile, recalled Robbie Stockdale last night admitted his relief at being back in Premiership action with Boro.

The defender has spent 16 months in the reserves, and when he came off the bench to score the first of Boro's two goals in the draw at Chelsea it signalled an amazing turnaround.

Stockdale, who also grabbed his side's only goal in his last top-flight outing against Watford at the Riverside in May 2000, fell out of favour with former boss Bryan Robson.

But under McClaren, who took over the reins in the summer, the 21-year-old is determined to make the most of his latest opportunity to show what he can do.

"Last season was not a good year for me," said Stockdale, who played right-back in the 3-1 win over Northampton in the Worthington Cup on September 11.

"I was loaned out for a month to Sheffield Wednesday and things didn't work out there and I just could not get my chance in the first team here at all. It was very frustrating and I could not seem to do anything about it.

"I was fit, it was just I was out of favour with the manager at the time. But the new manager has come in and I have been given my chance and now I want to push hard to work my way into the starting line-up.

"I hold nothing against Bryan (Robson) because it was just the way he wanted things to go. But at the end of the day I supported Boro as a fan and I wanted to stay here and do well."

After replacing £600,000 signing Allan Johnston at Stamford Bridge, Stockdale impressed for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch - even though he was played at left wing-back.

But the right-footer did not look out of his depth and that will have given McClaren encouragement following the breakdown of Italian full-back Antonio Benarrivo's loan move to Teesside.

Stockdale admits running up and down the left flank does not bother him in the slightest, so long as he is getting more first-team minutes under his belt.

"I have been played there once before and I feel comfortable in that role," said Stockdale, who made his debut for Boro in January 1998.

"If it helps the manager to play me in there then that's fine by me. I know it's a squad game now and it is just good for me that I am able to play in a few positions."

Southampton visit the Riverside on Saturday and Boro are looking to extend their unbeaten top-flight run to four matches.

Stockdale, who is pushing for a starting place, knows the Saints will provide difficult opposition.

"All games in the Premiership are tough," said Middlesbrough-born Stockdale.

"But if we play well as we know we can, and we keep playing with the same commitment as we have been showing we can take the points."

* Squad player Mark Summerbell is set for a loan move to Bristol City, with a view to a permanent free transfer.

The 24-year-old tough-tackling midfielder is expected to start training with the Robins this morning, and manager Danny Wilson hopes to have the player available for the trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

* Boro centre-back Gianluca Festa visited a specialist in London yesterday to try to get to the bottom of a troublesome injury.

After undergoing a hernia operation during the summer Festa has been unable to recover and now the Italian hopes the trip to the capital will have helped.

Strikers Noel Whelan and Dean Windass, meanwhile, have returned to full training, along with defender Ugo Ehiogu.

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