GARETH SOUTHGATE tonight heaped praise on David Wheater, who took a surprise switch to right-back in his stride to produce a Man of the Match performance against Spurs.

There were a few surprised faces in the crowd when the 21-year-old Redcar lad was selected to fill in at right-back, with Justin Hoyte signed just too late to be available.

But Wheater the manager's faih in his versatility by playing the position like a veteran and scoring one goal which was allowed and another which was mysteriously ruled out by referee Martin Atkinson.

"We thought it was a foul on David if anything, he had his shirt ripped in the incident," said Southgate.

"We've won the game so we can continue the respect campaign for another week but it might have been another story!

"He enjoys scoring goals and at the end of training when he should be practicing his defending, he's practicing his shooting."

If anyone had thought the young defender would struggle to cope with the pressure of playing an unfamiliar role, they don't know him very well.

David Beckham would have been proud of the range of passes he displayed at times.

"We felt that Premier League experience would be important for us all over the field and we also felt he would be a threat from set pieces," said Southgate.

"We kept saying to him that good players can play anywhere and he's a good footballer. He didn't have any qualms about it and dealt with it no problem."

Wheater's performance was just one of many pleasant surprises for the Boro fans in the 32,000-plus crowd as a game which began with so many unanswered questions ended with as much relief as delight.

"There's been a real good feeling about the whole of pre-season and there was a belief around the stadium," said Southgate.

"The fans bought into it by coming today. We knew it would have been a good game of football because of the way Tottenham play but you can promise things but you need to deliver.

"When you have that feeling, you want to reward it."