Boro currently lie 14th in the Barclays Premiership table, 14 points adrift of the top-six finish they set as their target at the beginning of the campaign.

Southgate is a firm believer in the maxim that a club deserves to be where it finishes at the end of a season, and is acutely aware that too often, his side has failed to scale the heights of which they are capable.

However, the evidence of last Saturday's deserved 1-1 draw at Manchester United, in which the Teessiders not only ran the champions-elect close, but threatened to beat them, gives him optimism for the future.

Southgate said: "The great thing from everyone's perspective here is you know you have a chance every time you go out on to the field.

"Lots of teams have never had a result against the big four - we are a team which has, so you look at a run of fixtures and you do not have to say 'Nothing there, nothing there'. We are competitive in every game.

"Saturday was very important for us. We'd had a spell of games where we had not performed as well as we should have done.

"We were decent at Liverpool and they scored an outstanding goal to turn the game, but to go to United and play in the manner that we did - it is easy to be negative and say why don't we do that every week?

"They are questions I have got to get to the bottom of and think about during the summer.

"But the fact is, we did go there and play that well and if we can compete at that level as we did when we went to Arsenal - although we weathered the storm a little bit more there - as we did at home to Chelsea, we took four points from Bolton, four points from Everton, we are capable of doing things.

"We have got to build and strengthen the squad, improve the hunger and desire on a week-to-week basis.

"But we have now got to finish the season as strongly as possible.

"The high of last Saturday and the effort that was put in will count for very little if we do not go and finish the last three games very strongly."

Boro's hopes of competing for a top-six berth on a regular basis will depend largely on the quality players they can recruit over the coming seasons and the development of their own talent from within an already hugely-productive Academy.

That process will be aided in no small part by yesterday's capture of £7million England international defender Jonathan Woodgate from Real Madrid, although that will leave the manager with limited funds with which to work this summer.

The 27-year-old arrived on loan after the start of last season, and Southgate, who was then just weeks into his new job, is delighted to have such a key figure in his new recruitment plan in place already.

Woodgate is certain to receive a rapturous ovation from the Riverside Stadium faithful tomorrow, and they will be almost as pleased to see Abel Xavier and Julio Arca, who are both fit again after niggling injuries.

Ninth-placed Spurs will arrive on Teesside intent on collecting three points to fuel their push for European qualification. That is now beyond Boro, but Southgate is adamant his side still has plenty to play for.

He said: "We did not perform the last time we played here and we want to go out and put on a good display.

"The three teams we have left to play (Spurs, Wigan and Fulham) have all got something to play for in the season.

"My belief is that we have as well, and we have to show that because I am still observing things and learning a lot about the players I have got."