Two goals from Turkish striker Tuncay Sanli extended Boro's unbeaten Premier League run to four games, from which they have collected eight points.

Tuncay capitalised on glaring errors from Nicky Shorey and Steve Sidwell to seal victory for the visitors.

All that Villa could manage in reply was a goal from Sidwell on what was his first league start since his £5million move from Chelsea during the summer.

Southgate said: "I was really pleased with the way we played. Even if the game had ended in a draw, I'd have been really happy with the account we gave of ourselves.

"We passed the ball really well, were bright on the break and showed some resilience.

"The players responded to a challenge. I had said to them at the start of the week 'What do we want to do?' because in the past we have responded after poor results.

"This time we've had a good little run and I said to them 'Where do we want to go?' and their response was excellent and told me a lot about them.

"They have started to grow as a group and this is the best result since I became a manager because of the quality of the opposition.

"Having got four points from the two games at home, to win here was crucial for us.

"I wanted us to be mentally right and, after the first 10 minutes, I felt that was the case."

Southgate believes the predatory skills of Tuncay can make a big difference to his side.

The 26-year-old pounced after 34 minutes when Shorey made a mess of his attempted clearance and then, with two minutes remaining, he made Sidwell pay dearly for a misdirected pass in the box.

He said: "There is no doubt that Tuncay has made a big difference to us since coming back into the side.

"The number of goals he scores is probably the one area he needs to improve but he has got three now, (Afonso) Alves also has three and Mido has four."

Villa manager Martin O'Neill was crestfallen after seeing his side miss out on the chance to climb above Manchester United into a Champions League spot.

And he pulled no punches about the error by Sidwell, which denied his team a share of the spoils.

The former Celtic boss said: "When there are five minutes to go, if you can't win then you have to make sure you don't lose and the goal we gave away was so poor from our viewpoint.

"It is hard to imagine a softer goal and it was a big lapse in concentration.

"The first goal was also preventable. We had the situation covered and should have dealt with it better."

However, O'Neill is refusing to blame his side's recent hectic schedule for a second successive league defeat following the 2-0 reversal at Newcastle on Monday - which sandwiched a UEFA Cup victory in Prague.

He said: "Three games in six days is hard but the top teams have managed to cope with it. They play Champions League matches in midweek and get themselves ready for weekend games.

"I didn't think it was tiredness that beat us. For me, because of the manner of the goals we conceded, this is our most disappointing result of the season."