BORO lost no time in appointing a new manager following the departure of Steve McClaren to England in summer 2006.

The decision to give the job to Gareth Southgate on June 6 may have surprised outsiders but chairman Steve Gibson had identified his club captain as a man who could lead the club on the pitch and off it.

At just 35, Southgate became one of the youngest managers in the Premier League. His appointment also attracted controversy because he had none of the stipulated coaching qualifications.

The club argued successfully that there had been no opportunity for him to gain the badges because of his busy club and international career and he was cleared to take the job.

Southgate gave assurances that he would embark on the required courses as he transferred from the dressing-room to the manager's office.

He immediately appointed the experienced Malcolm Crosby as his assistant and retained McClaren's coaching team.

The squad Southgate inherited had just completed one of the most successful seasons in the club's history, but the new manager identified the need to strengthen in key areas.

His first signing was the experienced Sunderland midfielder Julio Arca for £1.75m. He also brought in the young, but promising, defender Robert Huth from Chelsea for £6m and striker Jason Euell a small fee from Charlton.

But his most spectacular signing was England international Jonathan Woodgate, the Middlesbrough-born centre-half who arrived on loan from Real Madrid where his career had been plagued by injury.

Southgate's managerial career got off to a patchy start in the 2006-07 season. They suffered an opening day defeat to Reading at the Madejski Stadium, where debutant Arca broke his foot.

In their first home game, Boro scored another thrilling home victory over Chelsea with late goals by Emanuel Pogatetz and Mark Viduka.

They followed up with a heavy, 4-0 defeat to Portsmouth at the Riverside before a creditable 1-1 draw at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium.

The goal power of Viduka and Yakubu proved vital as the season wore on. Viduka ended the season with 19 goals in all competitions and Yakubu 16.

Further highlights of a solid, if unspectacular, league campaign included a narrow derby triumph over Newcastle at the Riverside and a thumping 5-1 home win over Bolton.

It was another good season in the FA Cup, with Boro reaching the quarter-finals after replay wins over Hull, Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion.

They eventually went out to losing finalists Manchester United.

Before the season was out, Southgate secured the services of Woodgate on a permanent basis in a £7m deal.

However, in summer 2007 Boro lost Viduka to Newcastle and Yakubu was also unsettled at the club.

The Nigerian international left for Everton for £11.25m, leaving Southgate facing the challenge of finding replacements up front.

He drafted in the talented Turkish forward Tuncay Sanli, who joined on a free transfer from Fenerbahce. He also signed highly-rated Jeremie Aliadiere from Arsenal for £2m and the unpredictable Egyptian Mido from Tottenham for £6m.

Completing the spending spree was the capture of busy Portsmouth midfielder Gary O'Neil for £5m and the bargain acquisition of right-back Luke Young from newly-relegated Charlton for £2.5m.

Another low-key signing was another Egyptian international, Mohamed Shawky, for £650,000.

Southgate was keen to bring down the average age of his squad and Boro's Academy players received every encouragement to make the step up to the first team.

None took advantage of that more brilliantly than centre-back David Wheater. The Redcar teenager had just returned form a successful loan spell at League Two side Darlington when he was called on amid a Boro injury crisis.

Wheater took his chance so well that he was rarely out of the team in the 2007-08 season, in which the youthful Adam Johnson, Lee Cattermole, Ben Hutchinson, Jonathan Grounds and Tom Craddock were also given chances.

The struggle to score goals became a major issue in a nervous campaign in which Boro flirted with the relegation places.

Boro won only 10 league games all season, the highlight being a 2-1 home victory over Arsenal shortly before Christmas and a remarkable 8-1 triumph over Manchester City at the Riverside on the final day.

Winger Stewart Downing was top scorer with 10 goals in all competitions.

Southgate addressed the problems up front with the signing of Brazilian international Afonso Alves from Dutch club Heerenveen for a club record fee in the January 2008 transfer window, and Alves' hat-trick against City offered hope for the future.

Again Boro enjoyed a good FA Cup run to the quarter-finals, where they lost to eventual finalists Cardiff at the Riverside.

In summer 2008, Southgate lost three of his most experienced players, with keeper Mark Schwarzer joining Fulham, George Boateng switching to newly-promoted Hull and Young opting for Aston Villa.

More than ever, Southgate placed his faith in youth. He brought in two promising young players from the Continent, midfielder Didier Digard from Paris St Germain for £4m and forward Marvin Emnes from Sparta Rotterdam for £3.2m.

Justin Hoyte arrived from Arsenal for £3m to replace Young.

Home-grown products Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull were left to fight it out for the goalkeeper's position.

Boro scored even fewer goals - just 28 in the Premier League - and dropped into the relegation positions shortly after Christmas.

Alves failed to deliver. Mido was injured for most of the campaign and eventually went to Wigan on loan, with Marlon King arriving from the opposite direction.

Tuncay eventually finished top scorer with just eight goals.

The club's away record was also one of the worst in their history, with just two victories and 15 defeats.

Boro rarely looked like escaping the bottom three during a miserable second half of the campaign brightened briefly by a 2-0 home victory over Liverpool.

For the fourth successive season, Boro reached the FA Cup quarter-finals. But the main focus was on the worsening league form.

Relegation saw the departure of the talismanic Downing to Aston Villa for £12m and there were other big-name departures in the shape of Tuncay and Huth (to Stoke) and Mido (on loan to Egyptian club El Zamalek).

Boro made a promising start to the season, with good away wins at Swansea, Scunthorpe, Sheffield Wednesday and Reading. But they looked increasingly fragile at the Riverside.

Three successive home defeats to West Bromwich Albion, Leicester and Watford saw nerves jangling and the pressure on Southgate increased.

Ultimately, a 2-0 home victory over Derby County on Tuesday October 20 2009 was not enough to save him.