It’s an unusual situation to dismiss a manager when you’re just a few points out of first place, even more so right after a home win, but that’s what’s happened to Gareth Southgate:
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has been sacked – despite the Championship club being fourth in the table and bidding for promotion.
His dismissal came in the early hours of Wednesday, shortly after a 2-0 home win over Derby.
The 39-year-old was appointed in June 2006 but last season Boro were relegated from the Premier League.
Chairman Steve Gibson said: “This has been the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make in football.”
BBC Sport understands Gordon Strachan and Nigel Pearson are among the front-runners to take over at the Riverside, and an appointment could be made as soon as Thursday.
I’d expected Gibson to sack Southgate at the end of last season, where Middlesbrough dropped from the Premier League, but when he retained Southgate after that, I figured he was safe for the year . . . and if they went right back up to the Premier Leage in that year, he’d be safe for a few years yet.
