Gareth Southgate reveals Boro's Strachan talks

Gareth Southgate claims he has been told by Keith Lamb that Middlesbrough lined up Gordon Strachan more than two weeks before he was sacked by the Championship club on Tuesday night.

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Gareth Southgate was sacked despite a win on Tuesday.

Southgate was dismissed by chairman Steve Gibson despite Middlesbrough securing a 2-0 win over Derby which took them to within one point of top spot in the Championship. Poor home results and a drop in attendances have since been cited as potential reasons for Gibson's decision.

Former Celtic manager Strachan is expected to be appointed as Boro's new manager on Monday and Southgate was told by chief executive Lamb that the club held discussions with the Scot more than a fortnight before finally deciding to end his reign.

"Keith was quite open in telling me he had interviewed Gordon Strachan in London for my job more than two weeks earlier, on the night before we beat Reading (October 3),'' Southgate told the Mail on Sunday.

"Apparently, I was going to get the sack then but we'd played so well that Steve decided he couldn't do it. I found it bizarre that Keith should tell me all that. I didn't know whether I should applaud him for being so honest or get angry for taking the mickey.''

Southgate is also bemused at the timing of his dismissal and has stated that Gibson told him poor results were the reason for the sacking. The former England defender admits that the news came as quite a shock.

"The whole thing was surreal,'' he said. "It was normal for me to go to see the chairman in the boardroom after a home game. And it was usually a happy experience if we'd won. I didn't have the slightest inkling I was in trouble. We'd won the game, I'd spoken to the media and had a celebration drink with my staff. After a difficult few weeks, there was a positive mood around the place.

"As I walked up to see Steve, I thought about asking him about signing a striker on loan. After the handshake, Steve always asks me what I want to drink. But this time there was no offer. He said there was something he needed to talk about. Even then, I didn't get it. He seemed serious but I thought it might be about someone else, not me.

"Then he told me straight that he'd been monitoring the team's results over the season and that poor results meant I was losing my job. It didn't sink in, it was so unexpected. I was too stunned to mount a defence. I regret now that I didn't say a few things, like the fact we were only one point off the top of the table.

"It wouldn't have changed his mind but it might have made me feel better. I've heard different reasons since then for my sacking - low crowds was one. I understand that Steve might feel a new manager could lift the fans at this stage but the reason I was given was poor results, which is surprising.

"I got a text from someone pointing out I'd only got one point less than Chris Hughton and he had been offered the manager's job full-time at Newcastle United.''