Boro's 1-0 defeat at Manchester City yesterday was their 13th successive winless outcome in the Barclays Premier League - a run that has dumped them into the relegation zone, with supporters increasingly pessimistic about their surviving chances.

The transfer-window arrival of Marlon King does not appear pivotal - and while owner Steve Gibson is unlikely to be lured into any knee-jerk reactions, Southgate will need to dig deep to find solutions to Boro's present malaise.

But the former England star is happy to carry the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

"No one needs to take pressure off me," he said.

"It is for me to carry, because the players need to be able to go out and play.

"I am not shirking my responsibility. Taking responsibility is what I have done all my career as a captain and a manager. I don't have an issue with that. It is what I am paid to do."

Boro's plight is hardly helped by the potential loss of Chris Riggott, who will have tests to establish the severity of the twisted knee he suffered at Eastlands during the second half of a match the visitors deserved to lose yet would have won had Afonso Alves come out on top in his duel with Shay Given.

Instead, it was Given who was the conclusive winner - making four excellent saves to deny the Brazilian, who on each occasion found himself one-on-one with City's new £6million goalkeeper.

"At least Afonso is getting in the right areas," said Southgate, who could only shrug his shoulders at the comparison between Boro's struggles to get fresh faces to the Riverside last month and the spending spree opposite number Mark Hughes was able to embark upon.

"We are what we are," he said.

"We tried to do a couple of deals that were financed in such a way that we would have paid for them in the summer. Unfortunately we could not complete them.

"City are in a different situation to us. Mark did a brilliant job at Blackburn and deserves to have that kind of money to spend.

"The fortunate thing for us at the moment is the league is still so tight.

"We probably need five wins to stay in the division. But we have to get the first one. It is pointless thinking about anything else."