Tim Cahill's scruffy 50th-minute winner secured a seventh away league win of the season for injury-plagued Everton and heaped more woe upon Boro after last weekend's dismal 3-0 defeat at Fulham.

With no new faces expected in the January transfer window and doubts over the future of Stewart Downing and Tuncay Sanli, Southgate could be forgiven for fearing things could only get worse.

But the Boro boss insisted: "We're in a tough spell and we have two options - we wither, try and walk our way out of it and hide, or we roll our sleeves up and dig in and together work our way out of it.

"I only know one way of working in my life and in my seven years here and that is to take on every challenge, and that's the kind of determination we need - there's no easy way out.

"The focus will come on us now and we'll have a lot to deal with over the next few weeks but I've got to make sure that I take that pressure from the players and I'm more than prepared to do that."

Boro had their chances to scrape something from an eminently forgettable encounter, with Gary O'Neil bringing a fine save out of Tim Howard and substitute Adam Johnson seeing a late penalty appeal turned down.

But the visitors, forced once again to start the game without a recognised striker and also missing Leon Osman and Joseph Yobo, were full value for a win that keeps their European dreams on track.

Boss David Moyes could hardly praise his side enough for their willingness to adapt, and their success was hailed by Southgate, who added: "Everton have no fit strikers but they came here with the mentality to fight and dig in.

"That's the mentality we have to develop. How you deal with these setbacks and the difficult times will ultimately determine where you are going to finish in this division."

Everton were in control from the start with Steven Pienaar seeing a 10th-minute effort ruled out for a foul in the box by Joleon Lescott, then blazing a rising shot just wide of the target after a mistake by Julio Arca.

But Boro came close in the 33rd minute when Downing's cross from the right fell to O'Neil on the edge of the box and his driven right-foot shot was superbly turned around the post by Howard.

Cahill broke the deadlock in the 50th minute with a goal befitting such a scrappy tie, poking home at the third attempt from a move started by Mikel Arteta's right-wing corner.

Things should have got worse for the home side after 57 minutes when Marouane Fellaini lobbed a cross from the right that found 18-year-old debutant Dan Gosling in the box but the youngster blazed high and wide of target.

Moyes said: "Dan was terrific and on another day he might have got himself a couple of goals. It is a big step coming into a Premier League side pushing for Europe so he deserves a pat on the back.

"It's terrific what the players are doing. If we get Victor (Anichebe) and Louis (Saha) back that'll be a start and if we get a couple of additions that will give ourselves a powerful, strong squad for the rest of the season."