The Teessiders passed up a glorious opportunity of going all the way in the world's most famous domestic competition when they were soundly beaten by Coca-Cola Championship side Cardiff on Sunday.

While the Welshmen prepare for a Wembley semi-final against fellow giant-killers Barnsley with the prize of a return trip and silverware at stake, Boro instead face a tense fight for Barclays Premier League survival, which resumes at Aston Villa tomorrow evening.

The club's supporters turned out in force at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday, but left in disgruntled mood after booing their expensively-assembled and highly-paid side off both at half-time and on the final whistle following the Bluebirds' comfortable 2-0 win.

Southgate and his staff conducted a post mortem as they drew up their plans for the trip to Villa Park, and the message was to keep the faith.

The manager said: "The easiest thing is for the fans and the players to fall out of love with each other.

"The fans can fall out of love with us at the moment, but we can't fall out of love with the fans because they came in their thousands, they gave us fantastic support and we let them down on the day.

"You have to remind everybody that it is those supporters who pay the wages that we earn and that any criticism that comes our way we have to take on board because when you pay to go to watch something you have the right to criticise it.

"That's been the case forever, not just now when the wages are as big as they are.

"I did think it was important we remembered that responsibility."

Southgate counts himself fortunate to have played his football at a time when the financial rewards for him and his fellow professionals exploded.

However, he insists cash is not an issue once the white line has been crossed.

He said: "The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter what players earn, if they earn £500 or £5,000, it doesn't actually make them play any better or worse.

"They play as well as they possibly can, especially in a game like that.

"But they are human beings and that is why sport has the appeal it has because you get results and performances that go against what everybody expects.

"Now we have to take responsibility for that because with the high wages we earn comes responsibility and comes expectation.

"The irony is, had we gone out to Bristol City in the third round, there wouldn't have been too many eyebrows raised.

"But we get to a quarter-final and because we have raised the expectation levels - and we ourselves expected to progress - then it has a more damning effect on the club.

"We have got to rebuild that. It is an incredibly painful experience for all of us, but I have had plenty of those in my career.

"I have had some fantastic days, and I have had some incredibly painful experiences, but you learn from all of them and the painful ones make you stronger as a team, and that's what we have got to take from the weekend."

Boro have now lost three of their last four games and sit only four points clear of the relegation zone, and Southgate knows his former club will present a huge challenge as they press for European qualification.

He said: "We are playing against an outstanding team with an outstanding manager and it will be a huge challenge for us.

"But it is the type of challenge I feel the players are ready to take on now."