GARETH Southgate may be no nearer to resolving Mark Viduka's Middlesbrough future, but the Australian striker has hinted he is likely to remain at the Riverside Stadium by expressing his love for the club.

The 31-year-old, out of contract at the end of June, is keeping his options open.

It was Viduka's match-winning goal at Wigan Athletic on Saturday that ended Boro's relegation fears.

And with their top-flight status now secured, Southgate will turn his attentions to convincing Viduka his future remains at Middlesbrough.

"There are no developments, I just love turning out for this club and scoring goals," said Viduka.

"It's a great team to be a part of and the fans have been great with me."

It was only last year that Viduka was involved in an altercation with a fan outside the Riverside Stadium, in the wake of a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa - the same game that saw a supporter throw his season ticket at Steve McClaren.

Since succeeding the England boss last summer, Southgate has brought the best out of Viduka, with the Socceroos striker now a firm favourite on the terraces.

"We had a great following again on Saturday and they have been terrific away from home all season," said Viduka, who took his tally to 17 goals for the season at the JJB Stadium.

"It really helps when you come away from home and the fans are 100 per cent behind you.

"It's great to have that kind of support and even better to win for them."

And, in what could possibly be Viduka's final game in a Middlesbrough shirt when Fulham visit the Riverside Stadium on Sunday, the forward wants to end the season in style.

He said: "Our away form hasn't been the best but we got the three points at Wigan, which is the most important thing.

"It was always going to be a tough game because Wigan are fighting for their lives.

"I was in a similar position at Leeds. They have to fight for every position on the pitch and that makes life difficult.

"It would be good to give the fans a good performance back at home against Fulham and give them something to look forward to next season.

"It's always good to end the season on a positive note and if we can do that by beating Fulham then that would be great."

Viduka is expected to lead the Boro forward line alongside Yakubu on Sunday. Yakubu missed the win at Wigan with a virus, although the Nigerian will be included in Southgate's squad at the weekend.

Yakubu's return could see Dong Gook Lee drop to the bench after the South Korean made only his second start at Wigan.

After starting alongside Lee for the first time at the JJB Stadium, Viduka has been impressed with the former Pohang Steelers striker.

"Lee did very well but it was always going to be difficult for him coming into a game like this (at Wigan)," said Viduka.

"He's a quality player, works very hard and even though we haven't played together much I am sure we will be able to learn a lot about each other the more we play."

Meanwhile, defender Tony McMahon has suffered a fresh injury blow. The right-back only recently returned to training after two injury-hit years.

But, despite picking up a knock in training, the 21-year-old's latest blow is not thought to be serious.