AFTER taking Bryan Robson's job as manager of Middlesbrough Football Club, Steve McLaren has now moved into his old home.

McLaren's house-hunting wife Catherine was being shown around the five bedroom mansion, close to the village of Aislaby, near Yarm, Stockton, Teesside, last year when agents let slip that her husband's predecessor had been its last occupant.

The mother-of-three had already fallen in love with the house, close to the North York Moors and with views overlooking Yarm.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that the couple had bought the red-brick home with its several reception and bathrooms.

Robson bought the impressive country manor for almost £500,000, in 1999. He lived there with his wife and three children until his job at Middlesbrough came to an end last year.

The luxury home is set in an acre of land and has four bathrooms, three reception rooms, a dressing room and a study. It even has its own bar.

Until the Robsons splashed out on the house, Robson had commuted from his home in Cheshire, often staying in hotels.

Two years ago, the Robsons applied for planning permission to add a tennis court to the already luxurious property.

But their plans were dashed when Stockton Borough Council threw out the application. Planning permission was refused because it would have contravened local restrictions on developments in open countryside. People living nearby also complained that the tennis courts would have been out of character.

McLaren told friends that he didn't have the faintest idea that he was considering Robson's old home.

"It was a complete coincidence that Steve's wife should hit upon this property,'' said a spokesman close to the deal.

Robson is believed to have moved back to his original Cheshire home with wife Denise and their children. Once again, he is travelling to Manchester after being called upon by former boss Alex Ferguson to help coach Manchester United.

He left Middlesbrough by "mutual consent", after seven years at the club, his mind made up by the boos and jeers he received following his last home game in charge, against West Ham United.