Gareth Southgate last night expressed his delight at the return to goalscoring action of injury-plagued striker Malcolm Christie. The ex-Derby star, has endured a torrid past two years, breaking his leg twice, but is enjoying his first full pre-season at Middlesbrough and responded with his side's opener yesterday. "I'm really pleased for Malcolm, he's had such a long time out and this is only his first full pre-season with us," said the Boro boss. "He took his goal well and his general contribution and the way he works for the team is fantastic, he gives us something different. "Touch wood he can stay fit this time, he's had three 90 minutes and is just delighted to be playing. It's a bonus to have him in contention. "He's been through a lot of frustration, breaking his leg and suffering the other injuries he's had. It's a difficult road to come back from, grafting away on his own in the gym is a thankless task. "I was always conscious that Malcolm was here and that was one of the reasons for allowing Jimmy (Floyd Hasselbaink) to move on." Turning his attention to debut boy Julio Arca (below), Southgate added: "He was so composed in possession, very calm and intelligent, you'd have thought he'd been with us years, so that's encouraging. "I was also pleased with the way we stood up to everything that was thrown at us - quite literally. It got a bit tense in the second half and I thanked the referee afterwards for his handling of it. "It was a good test, so I'm pleased. We coped with a lot of pressure, especially at the end when we were left with a very young side out. "We took Ugo (Ehiogu) and Lee Cattermole off as a precaution. I've told everyone I don't want us taking chances with injuries at this stage, fitness-wise we're in good shape. "We go away this week and we'll have Stewart Downing, Mark Viduka and Mark Schwarzer back involved in games, so that gives us a lift. "And I'm hopeful of trying to progress things transfer-wise as well, we'll continue to try and improve everything - I'm never off the phone!" Despite defeat, Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock - whose side lost 4-0 to Mansfield last week - was pleased with the improvement. "It's better, it couldn't have been worse than Mansfield!" he joked. "We tried a few systems and I'm pleased individually but not with the way we conceded goals." | 
