NEIL WARNOCK has agreed to stay at Middlesbrough until he is at least 73.
The veteran, who is the second oldest manager in England behind Crystal Palace’s Roy Hodgson, has penned a new one-year deal at The Riverside.
The 72-year-old is targeting a record ninth promotionCredit: Rex Features
After Tuesday’s 2-1 away win at Coventry, Warnock held talks with Boro owner Steve Gibson on Wednesday.
After outlining his ambitions for the club and changes he felt that needed to be made, the two men have now shaken hands on a one-year extension.
Warnock said: “It wasn’t really in doubt. I’ve enjoyed my time here and achieved what I wanted to so far.
“Steve is as big a supporter as he’s ever been, and he told me – you’ve not seen anything until you’ve seen a full Riverside.
“It’ll be great to have the fans back when we can – that’s what we all want and it can’t come quick enough. You can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but let’s be careful until we get there.
“I think we can all look forward now – at my age you know you’re not staying on to make up the numbers and I thrive on success, and that’s what I’ll be striving for.”
Warnock replaced Jonathan Woodgate in June and guided the club to Championship safety by winning four of his eight games at the helm last term.
This season he has continued that transformation to turn Boro into Championship play-off contenders.
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The oldest gaffers currently managing in England:
Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace)
Age: 73 DOB: 9/7/1947
Neil Warnock (Boro)
Age: 72 DOB: 1/12/1948
Sam Allardyce (West Brom)
Age: 66 DOB: 19/10/1954
Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds)
Age: 65 DOB: 21/7/ 1955
Chris Hughton (Forest)
Age: 62 DOB: 11/12/1958
He is now chasing a record ninth promotion as manager with his side five points off the top six.
And his trusted lieutenants Kevin Blackwell and Ronnie Jepson will also remain at the club alongside him in the dug-out.
A club statement said the return of fans to the Riverside is ‘another big attraction for the veteran’.
He is yet to take charge of a home game in front of the Boro faithful, having missed the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in September in front of 1,000 spectators as he battled coronavirus.
This season has also seen Warnock add more impressive notches to his belt.
He celebrated becoming just the seventh man to take charge of 1,5000 matches in Britain in October.
Warnock then made EFL history by winning a record 11th Championship Manager of the Month award in November.
He was already one ahead of Chris Hughton in the all-time standings before scooping another following a six-match unbeaten run.
Warnock will be hoping to cap his new contract with a victory when they travel to fellow promotion chasers Swansea on Saturday.
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Neil Warnock in X-rated rant at referee at Middlesbrough youth game vs Leeds just 24 hours after Brentford loss
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
