Southgate: top 4 not a monopoly

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate believes that the top four in the Premiership is 'not a closed shop' and believes that many other teams could battle to reach the dizzy heights of Champions League qualification alongside Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool.

He said: "It is self-perpetuating to qualify for the Champions League each year, you make that much more money than anyone else.

"But obviously, given time, the likes of Everton, are closing the gap. They have qualified for the Champions League before. And when you look at Tottenham's financial spending, they could break into that group.

"But it takes time. I think we can all remember a spell not so long ago when Chelsea were nowhere near European football.

"Everything goes in cycles and there will be a club emerging, as Leeds did a few years ago, that, for a time, will compete."