HAVING lost their previous manager to England, Middlesbrough are preparing to lose another one.

Steve Gibson invested his complete trust in Gareth Southgate yesterday, awarding the club’s captain a five-year contract, and while his lack of coaching badges means that his appointment has yet to be endorsed by the FA Premier League, the club regard him as a future national team head coach.

The 35-year-old centre half will retain his player’s registration but is now concentrating fully on a shift in career that he did not anticipate when he was sunning himself on a beach in Florida last week. Having spoken to Terry Venables, Martin O’Neill and Alan Curbishley, Gibson turned to a man steeped in knowledge of Middlesbrough’s history, set-up and potential. It is a brave and ambitious move.

“Hopefully he can be fast-tracked because he is one of the most intelligent and potentially great managers of his generation,” Keith Lamb, the chief executive, said. “He may well provide the FA with their next manager after Steve McClaren. What a coup that would be for Middlesbrough to be not only known for producing good players, but for being a coaching ground for good managers.”

Having settled on McClaren’s successor, Gibson’s immediate task is to ratify Southgate’s position. Under Fifa regulations, new managers in elite divisions must hold A Licence and Pro Licence coaching badges. Southgate has neither. The Premier League has made an exception for Glenn Roeder at Newcastle United, but he had signed up for the latter course before undergoing brain surgery in 2003.

Lamb has opened discussions with the FA, the Premier League and the League Managers Association, whose chief executive, John Barnwell, was outspoken in his opposition to Southgate’s recruitment. Middlesbrough are confident that a solution can be found. They have until the start of the season to find it, although Southgate could still then be hired in a caretaker capacity for a stint of 12 weeks.

He will be assisted by Malcolm Crosby, coach of the reserve team, while Colin Cooper will join a strong coaching staff of Steve Round and Steve Harrison. The only casualty will be Bill Beswick, the sports psychologist.

“England is not something that even enters my head,” Southgate said. “It’s a collective thing and it’s special to be a part of this. I’m a great believer that anything in life is achievable. Success will not happen overnight. We have to establish the club in the upper reaches of the Premier League. I have a lot of ideas but it’s important to speak to the players over the next few weeks.

“The ideal scenario would be to have had a couple of more years working towards the licence, but chances like this don’t come up too often. The chairman has shown his faith in me with a five-year contract and I’ve spoken to people whose opinions I respect. They were all very positive about the job. I see this as an exciting opportunity. The chairman knows how committed I am to this club. I have a great affinity with it.”

Southgate’s first signing could be his own replacement. Middlesbrough have agreed a fee of around £5 million with Chelsea for Robert Huth, the centre half. Personal terms have also been settled, although the Germany player has yet to make a firm decision. They are also close to signing the Oguchi Onyewu, the Standard Liège and United States defender, but Southgate does not wish the club to continue its longstanding pursuit of Roudolphe Douala, the Sporting Lisbon winger.

RULING CLASS

FA PREMIER LEAGUE rule Q4 says that “each manager shall hold either a valid Uefa Pro Diploma, or the FA Coaching Diploma, or a valid diploma of similar standard issued by another national association”.

The manager is defined as someone who picks the team, so Middlesbrough would not technically be in breach of the rule until the Premiership restarts on August 19-20.