STEVE Gibson has promised Gareth Southgate he will be Middlesbrough’s manager next season, no matter what division the club are playing in.

And while Southgate remains confident his side can avoid the drop ahead of this afternoon’s home game with Manchester United, he admits wholesale changes will be necessary after a calamitous campaign.

Boro go into today’s game with the current Premier League leaders three points adrift of safety, but while other managers would be fearful of their position if things do not go to plan in the final four matches of the season, Southgate has already received assurances about his future.

The Middlesbrough manager spoke with his chairman at length ahead of last weekend’s defeat at Arsenal, and was told to plan for next season in the knowledge that his position was safe.

“The chairman and I have had conversations where he has said carry on,” said Southgate, when he was asked whether he had discussed what might happen to his own position if Middlesbrough were to be relegated. “He said he does not intend to change things in terms of his manager.

“The chairman’s backing like that is rare. It clears and focuses your mind on trying to affect things that are important.

“It isn’t necessarily a comfort because I don’t take anything for granted, but it means I think about the longterm future of the club, rather than just the short term, which could hurt the club.”

Gibson’s reluctance to sack his manager is well known, but yesterday’s comments represent the first time Southgate has publicly confirmed the security of his position regardless of what happens in the next four weeks.

It is not unknown for a chairman to stand by a manager who has just been relegated – Gibson did it himself when Bryan Robson took Boro out of the top-flight in 1997 – but it has become increasingly rare for relegation not to be accompanied by a cull of a club’s backroom staff.

Since taking on the League Managers’ Association in order to appoint Southgate in June, 2006, Gibson has formed a close bond with the former Middlesbrough skipper.

That in itself would not be enough to guarantee him retaining his position, but having instructed Southgate to reduce the wage bill considerably last summer, Gibson clearly feels a degree of responsibility for the club’s current plight.

“In any organisation, when things go wrong there isn’t any one reason,” said Southgate.

“But the manger changes and people expect everything to improve.

“Many of the issues might remain. The chairman has looked at it and thought about the reasons behind where we are, and whatever the last four games bring us, we have to have a period of reflection because this situation has to be improved.

“Ultimately, though, I am under no illusions, it is the manager who takes the responsibility, and I am not afraid of that.”

By assuming responsibility for everything that has happened this season, Southgate also accepts responsibility for ensuring it does not happen again.

With matches against Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham to follow this afternoon’s game with Manchester United, the Boro boss remains confident his side will still be playing Premier League football next season.

But even if that is the case, wholesale changes will still be in the offing as this season’s failings are addressed.

“I have given him (Gibson) an outline of what I think has to change next season regardless of what division we are in because, make no mistake, there will have to be changes as the second half of this season has not been good enough,” said Southgate. “We have to improve, simple as that.

“Some people have disappointed me, but that is where it is fascinating because you don’t know how people are going to react to difficult times.”

While Southgate has spent part of this week talking about the threat of relegation in an attempt to drive home the reality of what could happen this summer, he has banned the use of another ‘R’ word ahead of this afternoon’s fixture.

‘Respect’ has been a hot topic in the wake of last weekend’s defeat to Arsenal, with Southgate feeling his players showed too much of it to Arsene Wenger’s side.

He does not want a repeat this lunch-time, and has challenged his players to be courageous enough to play their own game without worrying about the opposition.