Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is convinced his players have a psychological advantage over their fellow relegation candidates - because they have been at the bottom for weeks. He believes the experiences of the last two seasons, when Boro have secured their Premier League status only on the penultimate weekend of the campaign only help.

He said: "We have been where those teams are in recent seasons, so we know how that feels in some respects.

"In a strange way, we have got less tension about us because we have faced the worst possible scenario being where we are, and we have realised we can handle that.

"If you can handle that, you can look forward and see what we can go on and achieve."