New boss, new tactics and change in outlook please...

LET'S hope that the arrival of a new head coach at the Riverside is accompanied by a switch of tactics.

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Michael Carrick's well-worn system was becoming tired, particularly in the second half of the season when he didn't have the right personnel to select from.

The one thing which particularly irritates is the slow inter-passing, possession-based football which starts at the back and usually takes an age to make any progress up the field.

The ball moves dangerously across the face of the Middlesbrough goal on several occasions, with eagled-eyed opponents looking for the chance to nip in. It is not usually until Hayden Hackney receives possession that the team begins to make progress.

I know that the system is very popular in general in football, but usually in the case where clubs have several natural ball-playing defenders.

Boro don't have too many of them. So it is a lot safer if they are told to get the ball across the halfway line as quickly as possible.

Dael Fry, for example is a top orthodox centre-back at this level, and so too is George Edmundson.

They are so much better suited to simply booting the ball upfield than playing a “hot potato” passy-passy game at the back.

And we saw what happened to Boro when utilising this system in the League Cup semi-final at Chelsea. It was embarrassing how badly they were exposed.

If Boro had earned promotion to the Premier League then the system would not work for them unless there was a complete change of personnel right across the back.

Boro were also exposed in midfield last season, particularly as the two men in the middle had heavy tasks in supporting their defence and trying to spark attacks at the same time.

Hackney, of course, did this job brilliantly when he was on song but he may not be around next season to carry on the good work.