Wheater had been ever-present in the Premier League before Sunday

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has challenged defender David Wheater to fight for his place after he missed Sunday's 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

Wheater, 21, had been ever-present in the Premier League before the trip to Villa Park and Southgate has urged the Redcar-born stopper to bounce back.

He told BBC Tees: "I hope he'll react in the right way, he came out last year and was a lot better for it.

"He's a super young player and we want to keep improving him."

Wheater, a product of the club's prolific academy operation, signed professional terms at the Riverside in 2004 but rose to prominence as a first-team regular in the Boro side last season.

Sunday's win came courtesy of striker Tuncay Sanli, who grabbed a brace to take his tally for the season to three goals, just five short of his total for the whole of last term.

"He's such an enthusiastic player, that he will just run through anything for us," he said.

"His finishes were good, ironically from two slip-ups on their part and he was there to finish them.

"We've answered a lot of questions today."

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