GARETH SOUTHGATE last night praised Chris Riggott for his attitude on being recalled to the Riverside - and had told him he has a future with Boro if he wants it.

Having played alongside the 28-year-old in the heart of the defence, the manager knows better than most about Riggott's qualities - and he believes he can be an asset to the club next season and beyond.

But he admitted that phoning him to tell him he was needed back on Teesside - and would miss out on the last push of Stoke City's promotion challenge - wasn't easy.

"We had a problem with Poggy during the week and didn't know if he would make the game until yesterday morning," he explained.

"Chris has been on loan at Stoke and if he'd been with us two or three weeks ago he would have been playing but he was on loan and doing well.

"At first Chris was very good, he said he was a Middlesbrough player, then it dawned on him he was going to miss out on what could have been a celebration game for Stoke to end up playing in what was a high pressure game for us.

"I said to him, 'You're being very good about it at the moment, but in five or six hours' time you might not feel the same way!'"

FIND out about all the big news FIRST by signing up for the one and only official Boro SMS service. We'll send the important developments direct to your mobile for just 25p per message. Click here for details.

Southgate also had the task of explaining the decision to his friend, Potters' boss Tony Pulis.

"He was disappointed but he also appreciates that Chris is a Middlesbrough player and that he'd had him for seven or eight games and that had given him a huge boost," he said.

It's been a topsy-turvy season for Riggott, who has suffered a string of niggling injuries and lost his place in the team before going on loan to the Potteries.

And Southgate says the transformation from team-mates to boss and player has been particularly complex in the case of his former defensive partner.

"Having played together, it's been difficult for me and Chris," he said.

"I've got to look at whether I've dealt with it as well as I might have.

"There are occasions when he's come in and done well and I should maybe have left him in and I've learned from those experiences.

"Hopefully Stoke will get their result as well. It's a great credit to Chris that he's come back and played as well as he did.

"The fact that he's playing well and in good form means he was happy to come in and play at the highest possible level."

As for the future, Southgate said he certainly won't be encouraging him to move on in the close season.

"It's very much up to him," he said.

"He's an experienced and good quality centre-half so it's something we'll sit down and discuss over the summer.

"I know he's good enough to play at this level. He's got a couple of years left on his contract and anything is possible."