THE Northern Echo carries an interview with George Boateng in which the Dutch international warns Premiership defenders to watch out for Michael Ricketts next season. "There are many reasons that I am confident about Middlesbrough’s prospects next season and one of those is Michael Ricketts," he tells the paper. He adds: "I feel there is much to come from Michael when he gets back to full fitness. "In training I can see how much ability he has but injuries have prevented him from showing that on the pitch." The Journal reports on the England international ticket sales, reflecting that the game has received the "wholehearted" backing of the Teesside public after 24,000 tickets were snapped up in 53 minutes yesterday. The Daily Star, which says that Wimbledon have been told to report for training three days a week before taking June off, also says former Boro star Fabrizio Ravanelli has been told he can leave Derby. It says_Rav, who scored 16 goals in 49 games for the Rams, will be accompanied out of the door by Craig Burley, Branco Strupar and former Newcastle United star Rob Lee. The Daily Mirror reports that Christian Ziege played his first game since Boxing Day when turning out for Tottenham Hotspur who lost 1-0 against DC United in Washington. The game was the last in a Spurs shirt for Teddy Sheringham. The Daily Express claims Steve McClaren has warned that Boro need to sign Geremi to stay away from relegation trouble. In fact the quotes, which were carried_on this website yesterday, do not back that up. Click here to read what was really said. The Express says the Boro boss is targeting Ipswich’s Matt Holland, Sheffield United’s Michael Brown and Sunderland’s Kevin Phillips. The Sun says former Boro star Paul Merson will be "offered a megabucks deal" to quit Portsmouth and spearhead a new foreign league in Qatar.