Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has spent the weekend compiling a list of non-contract strikers as he contemplates Boro's sudden striker crisis.

The Boro boss told the Evening Gazette he had been forced to scour the international market after injury wiped out three of his four front-line forwards.

Only Dong-Gook Lee provides any kind of experience, yet the South Korean hasn't yet scored in the Premier League.

Southgate remained positive and focussed today, saying: "It's incredible. At the start of the season, we had injuries to all our centre-halves - we have now got injuries to three of our four centre-forwards.

"We are having a fair amount thrown at us at the moment, but we roll our sleeves up and we take on the challenge.

"We might have to look at non-contract players, play people in different positions or change formations or give young players a chance.

"These situations create opportunities elsewhere in the squad and we'll go to Spurs with a team which is capable of winning the game."