FORMER schoolteacher Lennie Lawrence never played league football, representing Croydon, Carshalton and Sutton United before taking up assistant manager's jobs at Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City.

After a spell in charge of Charlton Reserves he was promoted to manager after the departure of Ken Craggs.

His eight-year tenure saw triumph and despair as the club almost went out of business, lost their ground and were promoted and eventually relegated from Division One.

He was a surprise appointment at Middlesbrough but in a brilliant first season he won promotion to the new Premier League as second division runners-up and took the Teessiders to the Littlewoods Cup semi-final.

Lawrence signed Paul Wilkinson for a record £500,000 but sold skipper Tony Mowbray and repeatedly dropped crowd favourite Bernie Slaven. Boro once again struggled in the top flight and finished one place off the bottom.

With Boro eager to move on to a new stage in their history, Lawrence played a vital part in helping attract Bryan Robson to Ayresome Park, making the initial approach to the former England skipper.