Middlesbrough 3, Fulham 1.

IT was very much a case of looking to the future at the Riverside Stadium, while one of Middlesbrough's old guard reminded the whole of Teesside why they can't afford to lose him this summer.

With a giant replica of the club's new emblem paraded beforehand, manager Gareth Southgate watched from the technical area as Boro ended his first season in charge with the victory which ensured that small progress was made under his reign.

Now, having ended two places ahead of Steve McClaren's crop of 12 months earlier and with a point more, Southgate knows his attentions must immediately turn to the striker largely responsible for securing the win over Fulham on the final day of the campaign.

Mark Viduka, by taking his tally to 19 for the season, delivered a performance in front of the club's own fans that led to chants from the stands of 'sign him up, sign him up.' His response was to applaud and salute. Only he knows whether he was saying farewell.

Time is ticking on Viduka, out of contract next month and free to leave for nothing. He needs to make a decision on his future and Southgate revealed last week that he will start to look for a replacement if there is no outcome within the next fortnight.

But, as he has shown so often this season, the Australian's performance helped to hammer home to the whole of the Teesside town that finding a player capable of filling his boots is an unenviable task.

Both of Viduka's goals were of the highest quality and he made Fulham's international defender Zat Knight, a former Middlesbrough target, resemble a Sunday morning footballer.

Sandwiched in between were two goals in which young Boro defender David Wheater went from zero to hero inside the final few minutes of the opening half.

Wheater, brought up in the shadow of Ayresome Park, was responsible for gifting Fulham an equaliser just before the break, when his weak back header towards Mark Schwarzer allowed Simon Davies to score.

Within three minutes the 21-year-old, who spent a chunk of the campaign on loan at Darlington and had not started a Premiership game at the Riverside this season, headed his side back in front and Southgate's men never looked back.

Two weeks earlier, this was a fixture being earmarked to play a major part of survival Sunday, but last weekend brought an end to those worries.

Boro's away day victory at Wigan and Fulham's home win over Champions League finalists Liverpool meant neither club had worries of dropping into the Football League yesterday.

Southgate's decision to announce the departures of Stuart Parnaby, Abel Xavier and Malcolm Christie highlights his determination make the Riverside a hive of activity during the summer transfer window.

The acquisition of Jonathan Woodgate, who will now have an exploratory operation on his knee after this performance, is undoubtedly a masterstroke provided he continues to play as consistently and regularly as he has done over the last few months.

Although in the opening moments Fulham striker Brian McBride should have embarrassed the £7m price-tag. McBride, afforded too much space in the Middlesbrough area after Clint Dempsey's centre, failed to make the most of his opportunity and shot straight into Schwarzer.

That was as threatening as Fulham got, though. With Middlesbrough pulling all of the strings but without gaining the breakthrough some of their forward play deserved.

Inside the first half an hour Middlesbrough could, and arguably should, have been four goals ahead. Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi, however, was in no mood to gift the home side the lead.

McBride's defensive duties, when he worked his way ahead of Emanuel Pogatetz to clear Fabio Rochemback's cross, handed Middlesbrough a corner and that was the start of the flurry of advances forward.

And from two successive flag-kicks, Niemi proved his worth. The Finn initially turned away a terrific volley from Dong Gook Lee and then the keeper somehow managed to palm away, at full stretch, a Pogatetz header from close range.

And from a Pogatetz cross, Lee should have at least found the target from 12 yards when he brought the pass down well before firing high over Niemi's bar.

Shortly before that Stewart Downing, lively down the left against young full-back Liam Rosenior, was sent clear after some an interchange of passing from Lee and Viduka. The left-winger dragged his shot wide of the far post.

Chances continued to fall the way of the hosts but Niemi, who made another outstanding stop to his left to deny George Boateng's low strike, continued to frustrate. Viduka, however, was not to be outdone.

The Teesside faithful made their adulation for the striker known and, with his future still far from being decided, he soon repaid them with the opener.

Woodgate, marauding forward in the manner Southgate will want to see more of next season, picked out Viduka just inside the Fulham area. The former Leeds man showed quick feet to wrong foot Knight and struck powerfully into Niemi's bottom right.

That was 11 minutes before half-time and the only surprise was that there had not been more. More surprising, however, was Fulham's equaliser three minutes before the break.

A hopeful punt forward from Carlos Bocanegra caught out Wheater, who made a hash of the initial volley before his attempt at heading back to Schwarzer ended with Simon Davies volleying high into the Boro net.

That was only Fulham's third shot of the game, in stark contrast to the 15 Middlesbrough had conjured up by the interval. Being level at half-time would have been an injustice and Wheater soon made amends.

After Lee's wayward shooting had prevented Middlesbrough from going ahead again, Wheater was the young man allowed to leap unmarked in the box to head Fabio Rochemback's corner beyond Niemi.

Rochemback then fed the ball into Viduka for the third. He fended off the challenge of Knight before bursting into the area and delivering the sweetest of finishes inside Niemi's far post.

Had Rosenior not reacted quickly to Boateng's cross from the right, Viduka would have had a hat-trick. Instead the Fulham full-back worked his way ahead of the forward to clear from four yards out.

Fulham's lack of adventure going forward smacked of a club struggling towards the foot of the Premiership and Schwarzer, with exception of a couple of routine catches, could have gone on his holidays early.

Not even the introduction of Matthew Briggs - who became the youngest player in Premiership history at 16 years and 62 days - could help Fulham, who should have been on the end of a more inferior scoreline.

Middlesbrough continued to probe until the last. And when Viduka was faced with just Niemi to beat, once again his third looked to be on the horizon. Instead Niemi's outstretched boot denied him.

Had he would have become the first Middlesbrough player to score 20 goals in a season since Fabrizio Ravanelli a decade ago.

Whether he has scored his last goal in a Boro shirt remains to be seen.