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Great to see the England squad picked on merit not reputation, says Luke Young

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Betfair talk exclusively to Middlesbrough and former England right-back Luke Young

Things are suddenly looking up for Middlesbrough. After a difficult start to the season they could find themselves in the FA Cup quarter-finals if they get past Sheffield United in Sunday's live TV game. Betfair asked their former England defender Luke Young about it.

Luke, seven games unbeaten now, are things coming together for you at the right time?

I hope so. We had quite a few new players at the club this summer, including myself, and they were not just squad players but people who were in the starting eleven. It was always going to take time for a lot of us to gel as a side. I also think we were a bit cavalier at the start of the season. It was like: 'we attack, you attack', and we weren't taking our chances and the other sides were. We were losing games by quite a margin when really there wasn't that much in it. I think since then we've become a lot more solid and playing off a platform that gives you a chance. We are difficult to beat at the moment and putting away a few chances as well.

Has it helped that your chairman was so strong when Gareth Southgate was under a bit of pressure?

Yes, definitely, I think he understands the game. Nowadays if you lose a few games a lot of people are calling for the manager's head. I think it shows the loyalty the chairman has got here, and he believes in the manager. He's shown he's not going to give a knee jerk reaction to a couple of bad results. He's got a long term plan, he's told the manager so, and given him a five year contract.

There were stories that when your results were at their worst the chairman gave that message directly to the players.

I believe he saw a few of the senior players. I wasn't one of them, but I know he spoke to several to say that the manager was here for the long term - it's a five year plan rather than five months. That definitely helped everybody. Also it wasn't that we were playing poorly, we just didn't finish our chances and we played some great stuff and lost games. It was frustrating but it always gave you hope that one of these days we would put things right and there were encouraging signs even though we weren't picking up too many points.

How have things gone for you personally?

It takes a little while to adjust to a new club, but I feel like I've settled in really quickly. It was a tough start because we weren't picking up as many points as we would have liked, but for myself I've felt at home really quickly and I'm looking forward to the remainder of the season.

You come from Harlow and played for Spurs and Charlton. It must have been a big wrench to move away from London?

Actually no. The way I saw it, I felt if I played my whole career down South I might have been missing out on something. I've seen it as an adventure, my fiancée and my little girl are really enjoying where we are living, and I've attacked it and really enjoyed the chance to go somewhere else in the country and see what it is about.

Once you were fit after the first three games you haven't missed a minute in the Premier League. Have you been happy with your form?

I don't want to tempt fate but yes I have been quite pleased. I missed a lot of pre-season, so I basically got that done by playing games in the first team which sometimes is difficult to do. You worry that you'll come into a new side and people will be saying: 'The new right back looks a bit off the pace'. But I managed to get myself fit quite quickly. I've enjoyed playing and as the weeks have rolled on I've got fitter and fitter, and feel that now I'm probably playing as well as I have done throughout my career.

With that in mind was it encouraging to see that Fabio Capello picked his first squad and team on form rather than reputations?

Definitely. In fact I think that was really refreshing for a lot of players. You look at the Under-21 side, and they will be thinking it's not a closed door any more, where perhaps they felt before that it didn't matter how well they played, they wouldn't get a chance. It was really pleasing to see the first starting XI picked on merit rather than maybe on what you had done in the past and how high your profile was. It was great to see the likes of Matthew Upson starting, and David Bentley, and Jermaine Jenas. It was pleasing form a neutral point of view. I was sat at home watching and really happy it was that way.

You've got seven England caps so far. Does that make you think there's a chance for more?

I hope so. The new manager has shown he'll pick players if they are playing well for their clubs, and if he thinks you are playing better than anybody in your position you'll get picked. That's great for everybody.

So are you full of confidence, or is Sheffield United a bit of a banana skin?

Absolutely! Since the draw I've watched their results and every time they've played a game and not won you think it's got more dangerous for us! But it's probably our third banana skin of the campaign because we played away at Bristol City and then at Mansfield.

There's only you and Portsmouth left in the FA Cup outside the big four - and one of those will definitely go out this weekend. Is there a chance to really do something?

Possibly, but you don't want to talk about that when you have a game coming! If you start thinking about winning the Cup then you have got to get past Sheffield first. We'll take that as a massive game for us and think about what comes next afterwards. A Premier League club will almost certainly win it, so the longer you stay in the more your chances grow. But one step at a time, definitely!

Thanks for your time. We've got a free £50 charity bet for you.

Thanks. I'll back my old club Charlton to return to the Premier League. I really want them to go back up. I'm tempted by the odds of [12] for them to win the Championship because I still think they might go on a charge, but I'll play safe and back them for promotion at [3.05]. If I'm right I'd like the money to go to Leukemia Research. It's a horrible illness. A few year's ago we lost my Uncle's wife because of it and I've tried to support that charity since.