As he began working towards his UEFA Pro Licence, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate revealed that he hopes to take the Teesiders to bigger and better things next season.Joining up with the likes of Mike Phelan, Tony Loughlan and Wayne Allison at the University of Warwick last week, Southgate got to grips with both the classroom and practical elements of the course and believes it will help him in the coming season.
Speaking exclusively to TheFA.com, Southgate spoke positively of the benefit of coaching qualifications: "I think it's been excellent, I have really enjoyed it. It's very relevent to the role I have at Middlesbrough.
"The variety of speakers this week has been great, and the course has been excellently organised, I couldn't speak highly enough of it.
"It's come at a great time for me, you know I think I am ready now to take on board fully the ideas that are being shared.
"It's good for what I want to do at Middlesbrough this summer and this season, and it's great for us with three of us starting here this week.
"By this time next year we'll have six Pro Licence coaches [Martin Scott, Dave Parnaby, Steve Agnew, Colin Cooper, Malcolm Crosby and Southgate himself]. It's great because it gives everybody the bigger picture, it's great for everyone's development and hopefully it will be great for the players who will ultimately benefit from it."
The former England defender also believes that the changes in coaching football are progressing at such a rate that education is crucial to remain at the forefront of the game.
"I think society has changed, and obviously the game has changed, it has come up in discussion and I don't think players will just do things because you tell them to.
"You've really got to get them to buy into what you are doing, and that's a point that has been made a lot this week.
"The actual basics of football never change, but formations change, the speed and athleticism in the game is changing. But certainly the culture of the game and how we get messages through to the players has changed, you have to constantly evolve with the times."
Looking back on his the two seasons he has been in charge of Middlesbrough, Southgate believes he has learned a great deal and is intent on pushing on next term.
"I think both seasons we have learned different things," Southgate explained. "What we have got to do as a club is be more consistent and more disciplined certainly.
"We have shown that we can compete against anybody on our day, but we've got to produce those performances regularly and that's down to what we do day-in, day-out. That's up to us to set that agenda."
While Southgate admits that coaching was not always on his mind, he now feels determined to pass on his experiences in football to a new generation of players.
"It wasn't always something I thought about, but towards the end of my career it was. I wanted to try to help other people have the experiences that I had really.
"It's only really the last couple of years playing that it became an aim. I was inolved with the national team most summers, so that's why I'm a little behind on my qualifications.
"But I'm pleased that in the last three or four summers I have taken the time to do them, because I feel it has given me a lot to think about - this week in particular.
"There is no question that it is worth the sacrifice. I think you have got to try and develop yourself as much as you can, and give yourself some time to grow.
"During the course of the season it is very difficult to get your head above the water at times, the summer gives you an opportunity to have a look at things and see the bigger picture."