MIDDLESBROUGH have appointed Frank Nuttall as their new head of physical development.

Nuttall, who has previously worked with both the English FA and Glasgow Rangers, will head up a new-look fitness department at Boro's Rockliffe Park training ground.

Glasgow-born Nuttall, who spent two seasons as a professional with Celtic in the mid- 1980s, is a highly-rated sports scientist, and will be charged with the task of improving Boro's miserable recent injury record.

The likes of Robert Huth, Mido and Andrew Taylor have all suffered lengthy lay-offs, and boss Gareth Southgate is known to be unhappy at the number of games some of his leading lights were forced to miss in the last two seasons.

Nuttall's appointment should help to address that, and the Scotsman's arrival will enable Nick Allamby to leave his previous post of sports therapist to become a full-time conditioning coach.

Allamby, who worked closely with Jonathan Woodgate during his time on Teesside, is a specialist in the area of player recovery and injury prevention.

"We've appointed Frank as our new fitness coach and I think his arrival will really benefit us,"

confirmed Southgate. "He's been appointed as the head of physical development, and that's an area I've been looking at for a while.

"That side of the game is becoming more and more important, and I think the changes we've made this summer will help us make some big strides forward.

"Player recovery is something I've wanted to look at because I don't think we got some of our players on to the field enough last season."