Viveash is on hand to lean on for new boss Hellberg

ADI Viveash has been very impressed by his first impressions of new Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg, as he detailed their first face-to-face meeting.

- By CRAIG JOHNS [e-mail] @craig_johns

Viveash will remain at Boro as part of Hellberg's coaching team, after the new head coach was appointed on Monday. The interim boss took charge of one final game last night against his former club Coventry City, before handing over the reins to the 37-year-old Swede this morning.

With Hellberg at Rockliffe on Monday to be announced as the new boss, he met the Boro players and Viveash for the first time.

In his first interview, the former Hammarby boss explained how much value he believes Viveash will be to him due to his experience of the Championship. As for their first conversation, however, Viveash was keen not to overload on information.

He revealed: "I had about an hour with him and David [Selini], his assistant, on Monday morning, just generally talking around life and the club. He's been very respectful. Articulate would be a word I would use from first impressions, he carries himself very well."

Viveash was a coach at Coventry when Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres was part of the squad. He's now a £55m Arsenal forward and the Boro coach smiled: "We discussed many things. We talked about Mr Gyokeres I thought we would and that was quite interesting. We had a chat about what he's seen. He was very complimentary about the last couple of weeks, and that meant a lot. I received a text message off him on Saturday on the coach on the way back.

"I'm not going to say what was in it, but it did mean a lot. He was watching the game, and obviously because he is a head coach, he respects what's gone on in the last couple of weeks. Monday was just about having initial conversations."