The man to take Middlesbrough to the next level is Gareth Southgate . . . according to his new assistant Malcolm Crosby. The Teessiders have become an established Premiership club under first Bryan Robson and then Steve McClaren. But while Southgate's predecessors failed to cement Boro in the upper echelons of the top flight, Crosby - who has targeted a top-eight finish in the coming season - believes his new boss is the man to do it. "We do think Gareth's the man to take this club to the next level, that's why he's been appointed," said the ex-Sunderland manager. "All of us at the club know that we underachieved in the league last season, you only have to look at the position we finished in. "Maybe it was the fact that we had too many games and couldn't cope with the amount we had. But yes, we all know we have to do better in the league because it's the most important thing. "It's great getting to cup finals and semi-finals but the most important thing to progress as a club, you have to be top-eight. That's what we're aiming for, it'll be a tough call but we've got to look at that. "We can't be saying `Let's finish mid-table and we'll be happy'. We've got to look to get top eight, you have to give the team targets." As for Crosby himself, his target is merely to help Southgate every step of the way - now that he's got over the shock of landing the job. "It came as a bit of a surprise, Gareth phoned me and said that he'd got the job and asked if I'd like to be his assistant," said Crosby. "The whole thing now for me is to assist Gareth. There's no way I envisaged being a manager of a Premier League club, but this job's a great opportunity for me at my age to help someone to become the top English manager. "It's great getting a young English lad in, we've got to have a bit more belief in what English coaches do in this country. It's a start and hopefully it'll progress into more English Premier League managers. "Gareth's lucky in that he's got experience in Steve Harrison, Steve Round and Paul Barron and myself. There's lots of help there. He's his own man, he knows what he's looking for, but he's bright enough to use any of us if needed. "He's got his own ideas on who he'll pick and tactics and we've got to support him on that. We'll offer him advice, we might not always agree with him, but he's the manager and if he wants to go a different way, we've got to back that. "He's going to be a manager who'll talk to players, if he's going to make decisions he'll tell them straight to their face, the players will respect that." | 
