sport

ALIADIERE LOOKS TO TOP 10

Aliadiere - looking for top-half finish.

Jeremie Aliadiere insists a top-10 finish is well within Middlesbrough's capabilities this season.

Boro have started reasonably well, beating Tottenham before losing to a last-gasp goal at Liverpool, and then crushing Yeovil in the Carling Cup.

The Frenchman believes the side possesses sufficient quality to improve on last season's efforts and aim for the top half of the table.

Aliadiere said: "The gaffer says that we have to try to finish in the top 10 and I think it's the target we must aim for.

"We have enough quality in our squad to do that, and the players are very determined to do better this season.

"A lot will depend on whether we pick up any injuries because we do not have the biggest of squads.

"But if everybody stays fit then there's no reason why we can't do well.

"We have started off well. We feel we were unlucky at Liverpool and we want to try to win every game we play."

Boro finished 13th in the Premier League last season and have not invested heavily in their attempts to move forward.

Southgate has spent less than £500,000 this summer, with the purchase of £10million new trio Didier Digard, Marvin Emnes and Justin Hoyte being counter balanced in the club's accounts by the sales of Luke Young and Lee Cattermole.

However Aliadiere feels the togetherness within the squad is the key to Boro's potential success this season.

He said: "We bought players in January and they needed time to settle in here.

"It started to come together for us towards the end of last season and we have been able to push on because of it at the start of this season.

"Everybody knows how the next player plays now and also we have a togetherness in the dressing room.

"We have a good group of players. We all want to be successful and that's why we are confident that we can have a good season."

One of the players who arrived on Teesside in January was Boro's £12.7million record signing Afonso Alves.

The Brazilian striker scored six goals in his final six games last term, but so far has failed to hit the back of the net during this campaign.

However Aliadiere, who has switched from an attacking role to a position on the right flank, believes that Alves and his current strike partner Tuncay will score goals.

He said: "We have scored in every game so far so we are confident that we have players who will score goals for us.

"I don't really care where the goals come from as long as we score, but I think that Alves and Tuncay will both score a lot of goals this season.

"They showed last season that they are both goalscorers. We have created a lot of chances so far this season and as long as we continue to do that, then the strikers will score goals."

Alves and Tuncay both go into Saturday's game against Stoke at the Riverside seeking their first goal of the campaign, which suggests that both men will be hungry for the breakthrough - especially as fellow striker Mido has scored three times already.

Aliadiere added: "Mido has been scoring and I am pleased for him. He is trying to get fully fit. If the manager wants to play him then that is great."