Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate insists he made the right decision selling Yakubu Aiyegbeni to Everton.

Ahead of today's game, Southgate said: "Of course we want to beat him - he didn't want to stay with us.

"We wanted to persuade him but it was in the Wigan game I saw his mind was elsewhere.

"Then it was a case of getting the best deal we could.

"It was disappointing but part of me understood as I spent a year on the transfer list myself."

Yakubu has yet to justify his £11.25million price tag and Southgate wants to show him what he left behind.

A Boro win would see them leapfrog Everton in the table.