Boro looking beyond Venables

MIDDLESBROUGH’S hunt for a new manager could extend well into next week and beyond.

Chairman Steve Gibson has promised a swift appointment of Steve McClaren’s successor, but will not be rushed into a decision.

Boro have privately played down suggestions Terry Venables has been given 48 hours to make a decision, and club insiders suggest it could be the middle of next week at the earliest before a decision is made.

The club has spoken to the 63-year-old, and although they are adamant that no conclusion has been reached, they are anxiously awaiting his response.

However, with Venables currently involved in the Soccer Aid charity project and McClaren keen to recruit him as a senior advisor in his future role as England’s head coach, they are having to remain patient.

It is understood he is still Boro’s preferred choice, although having already seen him turn down the chance to take control at the Riverside before McClaren was appointed during the summer of 2001, they are busily drawing up contingency plans.

Martin O’Neill and Alan Curbishley have also been spoken to, while Iain Dowie and Tony Mowbray have emerged as possible contenders in recent days.

McClaren himself was not unveiled until the beginning of June when he took over from Bryan Robson, but still had time to recruit £6.5m defender Gareth Southgate and Man United duo Jonathan Greening and Mark Wilson long before hostilities began.

However, with midfielder George Boateng and striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink out of contract within weeks, there are important issues to be resolved.

Boateng, 30, and his representatives have been in talks for almost a year, but are yet to reach agreement, and Boro’s lack of European football next season could be a factor.

Meanwhile, 34-year-old Hasselbaink revealed ahead of the UEFA Cup final earlier this month that he has not been offered a new contract.

The striker is confident he still has two years at the top level in his legs, but admits he will have to look elsewhere unless Boro make a late move to extend his two-year stay.

In addition, 30-year-old Mark Viduka, has hinted that his long-term future could lie away from the Riverside as he enters the last year of his current deal.