Boro owner Steve Gibson sacked Tony Pulis on Friday after the Riverside club finished seventh in the Championship table.
Jonathan Woodgate is ‘expected’ to be announced as Middlesbrough’s next manager after the Championship club put Tony Pulis out of his misery on Friday, as reported by the Mail.
Pulis’s year-and-a-half reign at the Riverside came to a perhaps belated end just two weeks after the end of the 2018/19 season and few Boro fans will be mourning the departure of a manager who never really won over the supporters.
An experienced and talented Middlesbrough squad finished seventh in the Championship, missing out on the play-offs, and Pulis’s typically pragmatic style was laid bare by a record of just 49 goals in 46 games. Even relegated Rotherham United scored more.
But instead of hiring a proven Championship manager, such as the newly available Chris Hughton, the Mail claims that Boro owner Steve Gibson will hand former defender Woodgate his first managerial role.
The 39-year-old made over 100 appearances in two spells at the Riverside in his playing days and he has been the club’s first-team coach since March 2017.
It remains to be seen whether Woodgate can get the best out of raw talents such as Britt Assombalonga, Dael Fry and Marcus Tavernier – should they stay that is.
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