Most of Gary O'Neil's team-mates at Portsmouth were foreigners, but his deadline day move north has seen him join a club with a much stronger English feel. Chief Football writer Paul Fraser speaks to Boro's £5,5m man.

MORE than six years ago, the small frame of a boy who had left school less than eight months earlier made his first appearance in professional football.

On January 29, 2000, some four months before his 17th birthday, Gary O'Neil became the youngest ever player to play for Portsmouth after being fast-tracked through the club's Academy system by manager Tony Pulis.

Such a scenario at Fratton Park these days is highly unlikely, given manager Harry Redknapp's spending patterns. But, in Middlesbrough, O'Neil has joined a club intent on continuing to promote the graduation of British youth.

O'Neil has become the 13th English member of Gareth Southgate's first-team squad, a clear indication of the direction the Boro boss hopes the club to take during his tenure.

It is a far cry from Portsmouth, where the 24-year-old was one of only two players to have progressed from the Academy. Yet he was still identified in August as the man to move on in an attempt to fund other transfers.

Senegalese midfielder Papa Bouba Diop is the man who replaced him in the Portsmouth squad on deadline day, when O'Neil completed his move to the Riverside Stadium.

And in becoming the most expensive recruit of all the August 31 deals, the midfielder from Bromley, Kent, had to say his farewells to the club that unearthed and developed his talent.

Given that he was raised in the south, it is easy to see why O'Neil would have preferred to stay with the club he first joined in 1999.

But, despite being informed Redknapp had accepted the £5m offer from Middlesbrough, there is no animosity towards his former boss. He also has no intention of taking a swipe at the former West Ham manager's buying policy.

The ambitious south coast outfit has effectively become a league of nations, with Redknapp leaning on his scouting network and global contacts to bring in a diverse list of nationalities.

Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, France, Croatia, Portugal, Zimbabwe, Iceland, England and Scotland are all represented, and there are likely to be further additions when the transfer window opens again in January.

"It was challenging at Portsmouth, you knew new people would be coming in. Every transfer window there was a fairly big turn around and you knew you had to perform to stay in the side," said O'Neil.

"But whether they were foreign or English didn't make any difference, there were a lot of good players around and that kept you on your toes.

"There's a lot of playing talent out there in the world and with the pressures on managers for clubs to do well, they want to bring in the best and the best ones aren't always English. That's understandable."

Almost two weeks ago, the Football Association's director of football, Sir Trevor Brooking, warned the England team was under threat because of the relatively low percentage of English-born players starting games in the Premier League.

Brooking's outburst sparked a national debate and Sir Bobby Charlton agreed. But despite joining Middlesbrough, who have proven to be the exception to the rule over the last few years, O'Neil for one disagrees.

"It's up to the likes of myself and the young lads we've got here to keep improving and challenging, we have to maintain our places in the Premier League," said the former England Under-21 captain.

"The league wouldn't be half as good without some of the foreign players that have come over here. We need to improve and to keep up, that's what it's about. I've had some good players to learn from during my time at Portsmouth. Both English and foreign."

If O'Neil makes his debut at West Ham on the right of midfield for Middlesbrough today, Southgate could field a starting XI which includes six Englishmen.

That in itself is remarkable at a time when the percentage of starting players in the Premier League is down to 37 per cent from a 76 per cent high 15 years ago.

But the fact Chris Riggott, Andrew Davies, Lee Cattermole, Tony McMahon and Seb Hines are among a clutch of other homegrown talents waiting in the wings, highlights the success of the Rockliffe Park Academy.

It is a situation Middlesbrough are rightly proud of. It has also not gone unnoticed by O'Neil in his first two weeks as a Middlesbrough employee.

"There has been a few lads away on international duty but the English core here is slightly different to Portsmouth, where there was a lot of foreign players, and there's a really strong togetherness," said a player who has represented England at every level through to the under-21s.

"Leaving Portsmouth was going to be difficult. I had such a good spell and I didn't see myself leaving. It was a bit of a surprise but I was excited a club as big as Middlesbrough showed an interest.

"I'm looking forward to a new challenge and I'm pleased to come up and get things sorted to improve myself."

Much has been said in recent weeks about the North-East's lack of pulling power following Roy Keane's rant at footballers' wives and girlfriends. Does O'Neil have worries about moving to this 'backwater'?

"I didn't know it was that bad until you told me," quipped O'Neil, who is in the process of moving up here with his wife, Donna, and their young child.

"Seriously, I don't envisage any problems settling in. We're in a hotel and my wife knew I needed to do it for my career. I'm hoping to get a house as soon as I can.

"The initial reaction at home in Southampton, when my agent told me I've got to go to Middlesbrough, was 'Christ, that's a long way'. But as soon as I got here it felt right."

Southgate's move for O'Neil ended a 12-month pursuit of his signature, with the Boro boss having initially tried to sign the boyhood Millwall supporter last summer.

Portsmouth knocked Middlesbrough back on that occasion, as they did in January and again a few months ago when Redknapp enquired about Ayegbeni Yakubu.

And a further indication of Portsmouth's reluctance to sell one of their brightest talents was their refusal to accept Liverpool's £5m offer for his services in 2005 - just a month or so after the Reds won the Champions League in Istanbul.

The follow season season, 2005/06, O'Neil scored in each of Pomepy's games versus Middlesbrough, a 1-1 draw at the Riverside and the only goal whenthe sides met at Fratton Park in April 2006.

"I've had a strong interest in him since I got the job," said Southgate, earlier this week as he sat flanked by O'Neil and another of his August signings, Mohamed Shawky.

"I wanted to bring his energy and youth into the club. We hope he'll form part of the team for the next few years. He can play central or on the flank."

Southgate's determination to land one of his top targets was always going to ensure O'Neil's transfer was pushed through as the midnight deadline approached on August 31; even if the whole deal looked to be on the verge of collapse at one stage.

Ankle surgery in April meant a routine medical got a little complicated at exactly the wrong time and, after lengthy negotiations, an agreement was reached with just 40 minutes to spare.

O'Neil, however, was not flustered, relaxing with a mug of coffee while watching the Sky cameras report the transfer developments. "It wasn't as dramatic as the TV made out, it was all pretty calm inside," he said.

And with all the hiccups and late hitches out of the way, O'Neil has travelled to London with his new Middlesbrough team-mates. He will be hoping his debut at West Ham goes more to plan.