Gary O'Neil has urged Middlesbrough to give Jonathan Woodgate time to succeed as manager.

The Teessiders have had a difficult start to the season after picking up just 13 points from 16 games so far - a run which has left them in the Championship relegation zone.

Of course, Woodgate deserves degree of sympathy having taking over at a time when the club's wage budget has been slashed and a new recruitment strategy is being instilled.

The Middlesbrough manager will obviously be the first man to come under pressure, but former Boro midfielder says that the job being done by the inexperienced boss can't be compared to previous managers.

Speaking to 888.com, O'Neil said: “I think they need to give him more time. They’ve obviously decided that he is the man for them and even though he’s very young managerial-wise he did have the experience of working under Tony Pulis last year.

"I just think that clubs need to be very careful with always changing. There has obviously been a huge cut in the budget so Jonathan Woodgate is not working with the same budget others had in previous years and with that has come a drop-off in performances and points return.

"I hope that Middlesbrough give Woodgate longer.”

Gary O'Neil played alongside Woodgate during his time at Midlesbrough, and said that he could always tell that he had what it took to be a successful manager.

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He said: "He was a leader in the dressing room and hugely respected. He was a fantastic player who’d had a fantastic career so you were drawn to him and respected that he’d played for Real Madrid.

"You could tell he was going to go on and manage: he was always studying things and talk intelligently about the games coming up. He always had a tactical view on them.”

The verdict

While the responsibility of picking up results does fall with Jonathan Woodgate, there does have to be a degree of perspective.

The inexperienced manager has been given an enormous task of offloading high earners and developing young talent - all while remaining competitive in the Championship.

Woodgate is by no means exempt from criticism, but this season must be seen as one based on 'short-term pain, long-term gain'.