Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has defended his decision not to buy an experienced No1 in the summer.

Instead, Southgate has backed youngsters Ross Turnbull and Brad Jones and insists: "Ross and Brad are both good goalkeepers but what they needed was an opportunity.

"I keep hearing people saying one of the reasons why we didn't sign a new keeper in the summer was financial but it's nothing to do with that. If I'd thought there was a goalkeeper available that was better than our two I would have bought him.

"I didn't think any of the keepers that moved to Premier League clubs this year were better than the two we had.

"I wasn't tempted to take any of those. And Ross and Brad have shown the form in the games they've played. Youngsters need opportunities and the easy thing if it goes wrong is to say 'that was never going to work'.

"Until we give them a chance, how do you know if they can step up? We've done it at centre-half, we've done it on the wing, we've done it in midfield and we're doing it with the keeping position.

"For me it's not even an issue."