O'Neil and Arca both made a telling contribution in the draw with West Ham

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has praised the young players in his squad for stepping in during the absence of key senior professionals.

Matthew Bates and Josh Walker have filled in as injuries and suspensions affected the squad and Southgate is impressed with how they adapted.

"The youngsters have been terrific," he told BBC Tees.

"They've given us extra members of our squad but we've got experienced players coming back in now which is important."

Julio Arca and Gary O'Neil returned to the side in the 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Saturday.

Meanwhile Southgate has defended his decision to leave Turkey striker Tuncay Sanli on the bench in the FA Cup game.

Sanli, 27, was a surprise omission but the Boro boss is adamant that the decision was best for both club and player.

"He's a super player and he's hugely influential for us when he's at his best," he said.

"But he's dipped physically lately and the way we wanted to play Stewart [Downing] could cause them a lot of problems.

"He's still a huge part for us and he'll get back to his best very quickly because he's got that class."

Tuncay joined Middlesbrough from Fenerbahce in June 2007 after his contract with the Turkish club expired.

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