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Fresh start a positive – Mowbray

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Former skipper Matthews Bates should be excited over the prospect of a new challenge after leaving Middlesbrough.

That’s the view of manager Tony Mowbray who insisted the 25-year-old departed the club on good terms earlier this week.

Bates has been training with Boro since his contract expired in June as he battled to regain fitness after suffering a fifth cruciate injury last season.

Talks were subsequently held regarding a possible new deal for the Stockton-born defender but no agreement could be reached.

“Sometimes it’s good to try something different,” Mowbray told the Evening Gazette. “He’s only ever known this club apart from brief loan spells. I told him to see it as a positive rather than a negative. I said ‘don’t be sad about leaving, be excited about leaving’.”

The long-serving Bates completed over a century of appearances for the club since first making his debut almost eight years ago.

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