Middlesbrough have confirmed the appointment of Gordon Strachan as their new manager.

The former Celtic boss, 52, succeeds Gareth Southgate, who was sacked last week despite Boro being just one point off the top of the Coca-Cola Championship.

Strachan began his managerial career at Coventry before moving on to Southampton, who he led to the FA Cup final in 2003.

The former Aberdeen, Manchester United and Leeds midfielder took charge at Celtic in May 2005 and after a nightmare start, when the team lost a Champions League qualifier 5-0 to Slovakian minnows Artmedia Bratislava, he led the team to three successive Scottish Premier League titles.

Southgate's dismissal came as a shock to those outside the club, with Boro chairman Steve Gibson renowned for giving his managers time to get things right.

The former England defender could not prevent the club sliding out of the Premier League last season, and Gibson revealed it was his fear that Boro would not bounce back at the first attempt which led him to sack Southgate.

Gibson last week told Middlesbrough's website: "When I sat down and considered our start to the season, I felt that the league table was actually more favourable than some of our performances.

"Then I looked at the important games against the teams immediately around us, and took those results into account.

"In general the results and the performances have not been to the level I would have hoped for."

The team were led on a temporary basis by Colin Cooper at the weekend and drew 2-2 at Preston. They are now three points behind Championship leaders and north-east rivals Newcastle.