Fans have since criticised chairman Steve Gibson for not dispensing with Southgate’s services, but O’Neil is adamant he is the man for the job.

He said: “He’s a fantastic manager, I can’t speak too highly of him. He’s been fantastic with me.

“He works every hour he can to improve as a manager and do what’s right for the football club.

“I know we will be looking to bounce back, and he’s definitely the right man to take us back up.”

O’Neil was linked with a January move back to former club Portsmouth after struggling to settle on Teesside, but after Gibson refused to allow he and winger Stewart Downing to leave, could not be faulted for his efforts to stave off relegation.

But failure has proved a bitter pill to swallow.

He said: “It’s a horrible feeling. It was my worst day in football by far.

“I have never experienced anything like it and everybody’s hurting.

“It’s a very tough league and we just came up short. We seemed to have numerous chances to get ourselves out of it, but we didn’t take them and that’s really disappointing.”

Both Gibson and Southgate have promised there will be significant changes in the playing squad this summer as the club prepares for life in the Coca-Cola Championship.

However, O’Neil insists he has not yet made any decisions on his own future.

He told the club’s official website, www.mfc.co.uk: “I haven’t thought about myself yet. But I would think there will be players leaving and I think there will be a few incoming too.

“I have got the summer now to go away and think about it.”