Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is delighted his decision not to sign a replacement for Mark Schwarzer has been vindicated.

Schwarzer faces Boro for the first time tomorrow since his move to Fulham and Southgate said: "It was a case that either Mark stayed, or we were going to go with the two we had.

"We just felt we would never know about them unless we gave them that opportunity.

"You can lose players at a football club without ever looking at them and giving them that chance, and then you do run the risk of them going elsewhere and doing well and missing out on something that's been right under your nose.

"We did offer Mark a contract because it would have been great to groom the other two underneath him.

"But it has worked out better than we could have hoped because Ross (Turnbull) is getting that Premier League experience under his belt now, and I know Brad (Jones) is there ready to step in if Ross doesn't attain the heights he has set in this early part of the season."