"Listen, this is the start of my pathway and hopefully it builds up like that."

These are the words from new manager Jonathan Woodgate, who said that he is hoping to emulate the success of former Middlesbrough managers.

Chairman Steve Gibson has given him a three-year deal, and adds him to a list of managers who have managed Boro without any full-time managerial experience before.

Bryan Robson, Steve McLaren, Gareth Southgate and Aitor Karanka were all given their first chance from Steve Gibson, reports the Daily Mail.

Two of these went onto manage England, and when asked whether he would like to use the Riverside as a place to start a successful tenure in management, he said: "Those managers have had great success and been incredible managers, especially Gareth, who has gone on to be England manager and has done an unbelievable job.

"Listen, this is the start of my pathway and hopefully it builds up like that."

Woodgate, who played 112 games for Boro, was then praised by Steve Gibson, and had his qualities compared to some of the managers who preceded him.

Gibson said: "If you look at Bryan, Captain Marvel of England, Aitor, three Champions Leagues, Steve McClaren won the Treble with Manchester United as a coach - they were all big, big, strong football people and Jonathan is that.

"He's a character, he's his own man, he knows what he wants. He's the one in the dressing room while he's been here to always say what he thinks.

"I see a lot of qualities in Jonathan and I think he could be one for now, one for next year and certainly one for the future, and I'm prepared to back that by giving him the job."

The Verdict

While Southgate didn't endure the best of managerial spells at Middlesbrough, you can still why Woodgate would like to emulate him in terms of his approach and mentality.

Steve Gibson has a good record for backing managers and giving them chances, so I think Woodgate will have a good opportunity to cut his cloth with the support of his chairman.

Middlesbrough will be a really interesting development next season as Woodgate has already spoken with real positivity - similarly to Southgate - and has focused on themes such as the players enjoying themselves.

He has also spoken about scoring goals, something which didn't happen under Pulis; so it will be intriguing to see how that team develops in terms of style and structure.