WOODGATE MUST BUILD BORO FROM THE BACK

JONATHAN Woodgate walked into the most difficult situation you could possibly encounter as a first-time manager.

When you’re new to the profession, you naturally want to play football a certain way. But if your players are not capable – and Middlesbrough’s clearly aren’t – you have to try something different to get results.

If you don’t, the fans will stop coming. Then they’ll start moaning. Then the chairman will listen and we all know how that ends.

Jonathan has clearly struggled to adjust, so my advice to him is simple: just find a way of winning. Eliminate everything else from your thought process.

And what is the simplest way to win? Stop goals going in at your end. In the modern game, everybody seems to think that shouldn’t be your first priority. But if you want to stay in a job, it’s an absolute must.

The reason is obvious. If you keep a clean sheet, you only need one goal to win. But if you let one goal in, you need to score two to win.

And if you concede two, you need to score three.

That’s fine if you’ve got the two best strikers in the league, like Liverpool or Man City. But if you haven’t then, statistically, you won’t score enough goals and you’ll end up at the wrong end of the league.

It’s simple but it’s true

– and defensive shape is something you can coach any group of players to get right.

Beyond that, make phone calls. Pull in favours. We all know FFP means Boro can’t sign premium players. But you’d be amazed what a bit of legwork can achieve.

Sometimes you have to go out with a begging bowl. Because there are plenty of loan players out there who can improve a Championship squad.

That’s primarily the job of the football club, but Jonathan can use his status too. Being a good manager isn’t just about what you do on the training ground. It’s about how good you are at speaking to people, forging relationships and selling your own club.

Ring clubs. Ring coaches. Find out who is available. Persuade clubs that by loaning you a player, they are the ones who benefit.

And don’t lose heart. If you make 100 phone calls, you might get five interested players. If you make five calls and give up, you won’t find any. Just keep plugging away and you never know what will happen.