Carlisle United boss Neil McDonald has revealed they're set to take Middlesbrough's fringe players on-loan this season.

"I had a fantastic conversation with Gareth [Southgate] and his assistant Malcolm Crosby when they came into my office after the game [last week]," he said.

"They were very complimentary about everything concerning the football club, and we have definitely put down a few seeds about him letting us have players on loan if we need them.

"They were impressed, if not surprised, with how well we played, and they were certainly impressed with the pitch.

"All that is a good selling point for a manager if he wants some of his young players to play somewhere for a few months to get some experience. The feedback from Gareth on that front was excellent."