Steward Downing has declared that the best man for the Middlesbrough job is Steve Agnew.
He asked that the club quickly sort the issue of coaching so the eventual choice can settle to the business of management.
It remains unclear who would take charge and help the Boro team settle into the Championship. Steve Agnew replaced sacked coach AitorKaranka in March. Downing seems impressed by the work Agnew did in the short time and he wants him to continue even as the team goes down to the lower division.
“The managerial situation needs clarifying so we can get on with it. If it is a new manager then he is going to want time, if it is Steve Agnew then he probably has his own ideas in place already. He’s probably known for months what he wants to do,” Downing said.
“I personally hope it is Steve. I think he deserves the chance, I think he’s earned it,” he added.
Downing knows many would criticize his choice to stick with Agnew even as the team were relegated but he says he’s known the manager for years and would remain by him. He asks for more time for Agnew as the current crop of players is not his team. He addsthat the fitness level of the players and their current motivation makes it difficult for Agnew.
“He’s been given – not an impossible task – but certainly a very difficult one,” Downing explains. The veteran winger believes the team can succeed in the Championship but asks for an overhaul of the first team. He says some of them don’t want to be in the second division so the team needs Championship players that can play in the “very difficult league” and succeed.