Middlesbrough veteran Gareth Southgate believes clubs have the primary responsibility in educating their players about drugs, in the wake of Adrian Mutu's suspension.

England defender Southgate, 34, says the aim should be to produce youngsters who are not only good players but worldly wise to boot.

Mutu, who is reported to have been offered the assistant coach's position of his native Romania while serving his seven-month suspension, was banned from playing football by a disciplinary commission at the Football Association's Soho Square headquarters on Thursday.

He was sacked by Chelsea after admitting taking banned substances and Southgate said: "I think it will have made a few people stand up and take notice.

"Only Chelsea will know the inside reasons why they have sacked Adrian Mutu. If they are showing they are taking a strong stance on drugs then that is commendable but people need support through times like this.

"We would be naive to think that a problem which is widespread in society wouldn't affect some people in football.

"I would hope people would be professional but although we are professional sportsmen we are human beings, so we are fallible.

"We need to educate younger players in particular that these (drugs) should be avoided. The major responsibility will lie with the clubs.

"The FA do have a duty to act but by the time they are called upon it has probably gone too far. The people who affect players the most are those who are in charge at their individual clubs. At a club you want, not only to produce good footballers, but people who are rounded as human beings and sometimes that is overlooked a bit."

Mutu apologised for his behaviour and his compliance with the FA's rehabilitation and education scheme meant he received a ban one month shorter than Rio Ferdinand, who missed a drugs test last season.

Both cases are rare occurrences in the English game, however, and FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "The FA are firmly committed to doping control regulations and we conducted more target testing in the UK than any other sporting body.

"But we also want to work with individuals whenever possible to rehabilitate and educate them. Ultimately we don't want to see players left on the scrap heap if they can be rehabilitated.

"The figures don't bear out a problem: it is less than 1pc of those tested (for drugs) that prove positive.

"In society as a whole, we denote a problem with recreational drugs. Thankfully that doesn't bear up in the figures we have in football."