Tony Pulis has jumped to the defence of Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate.

Woodgate has faced criticism after winning just two of his opening 15 games in charge of the club, a run which has left them in the relegation zone.

The former defender was brought back to the Riverside Stadium by Pulis where he worked as a first team coach under the Welshman.

However Pulis also faced criticism despite reaching the play-offs in his first season and narrowly missing out in the second.

Speaking to the Ian Holloway podcast about his time in charge of the club, Pulis said: "I don’t think anybody in football, and most probably at Middlesbrough, realised how difficult that job was.

"To sell the players that we sold – Forshaw, Christie, Gibson, Bamford, Traore, to name just five – I think we cut the staff by 15-16 players in the 18 months I was there, just to rejig the finances which was important after an absolutely disastrous window.

"The football club is struggling today because of what happened two-and-a-half years ago. It’s not what Woody’s done, or what the players are doing; the big, big point was two-and-a-half years ago.

"If you have a bad window, if you have a disastrous window like that, and your recruitment is no good, then you’re going to suffer – and supporters have got to understand and recognise that."

With hindsight, supporters seem to realise the excellent job that Tony Pulis did in difficult circumstances, but the 61-year-old was keen to reiterate that Jonathan Woodgate is not to blame for Middlesbrough's struggles this season.

Pulis added: “Obviously, they haven’t started very well (but) it’s Woody’s first (job).

"He’s dipped his toe in the water, and, irrespective of what courses you do, and what people tell you, until you actually sit in that seat, you actually don’t understand it.

"So Jonathan will need time. He’s got a good chairman, and he’s got a good football club, and like everybody else he needs to pick up a few results.

"I’m sure they’ll do that and then Steve will certainly give him the opportunity and the time then to have a right crack at it.”

The verdict

While Tony Pulis got an awful lot of criticism during his time with Middlesbrough, supporters are slowly realising just how big the task was that he faced.

A huge year of spending during their time in the Premier League was followed by another big summer the next year as Steve Gibson looked to get the Teessiders back into the top flight at the first attempt.

Since then the club have had to take some drastic measures to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations, especially given the fact that Middlesbrough's parachute payments have now run out too.

This means that Jonathan Woodgate is tasked with overseeing the playing squad during a period where several big-earners have been let go, and more are expected to follow next season.