THERE were two empty seats on the plane that carried the Middlesbrough squad back to England yesterday.

The first was supposed to have been taken by the club's second major trophy and the second was occupied by Steve McClaren.

How chairman Steve Gibson chooses to address the latter vacancy will surely determine whether or not the former gap is filled in the foreseeable future.

As thousands of Teessiders followed the club's deflated players back from Eindhoven, the over-riding feeling was one of confusion.

Not so much at how Middlesbrough had slumped to the heaviest UEFA Cup final defeat in 20 years - even the most partisan supporter was realistic enough to accept Sevilla's superiority - but more at what should come next.

After three seasons of almost uninterrupted progress, there is an acceptance that, with McClaren about to leave to lead his country, the club is at a crossroads.

The right turn will maintain Middlesbrough's momentum, safeguarding the legacy that has been bestowed by one of the most progressive Academy set-ups in the country.

But a wrong move could set Boro back a decade, returning them to the days when relegation was a likelier prospect than a European final.

Despite Wednesday's intense disappointment, Gibson is only too aware of just what he stands to lose.

"This is not the end," said the 48-year-old, who went into the Boro dressing room in the aftermath of the UEFA Cup final to assure the club's players that stability would be the over-riding aim this summer. "The king is dead, long live the king.

"The club is in a fantastic position, we have some wonderful young players who are coming through and we have to treat them very delicately and make sure we get the best out of them.

"We can't rush them. They must be given time to develop. We have so many good things going for us, to help us move forward again.

"We have lost a game of football. Yes, it was the UEFA Cup final and yes we would have wished to have won it, but we haven't and we move on."

In the short term, that means stepping up the search for McClaren's successor. Gibson is understood to have held informal discussions with all of the leading names on his shortlist, although chief executive Keith Lamb yesterday confirmed that nobody had been interviewed for the post on a formal basis.

Former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was Gibson's first choice when McClaren was confirmed as England's next manager last week, but the Ulsterman's desire to install his own backroom staff is a considerable cause for concern.

Gibson has promised the likes of Steve Round and Dave Parnaby that they will be retained whoever is appointed this summer, and expressed his desire to establish a coaching Academy that will groom Gareth Southgate and Colin Cooper for a future career in management.

Former Middlesbrough manager Terry Venables is one of the few experienced figures who would be willing to work as the head of such a system and the Londoner's close relationship with Southgate has endured in the five years since he left Teesside.

Venables' name is being seriously considered within the Riverside's corridors of power, although the 63-year-old's candidature is not at as advanced a stage as some are suggesting.

Interestingly, though, Mark Viduka was quick to endorse the former England manager's claims yesterday, when he described him as "one of the best coaches" he had ever worked with.

"Football changes so rapidly," said Gibson. "Players have short careers, managers have short careers and coaching staff have short careers.

"In football, the turnover is huge - five years is a long time for a manager to be at a club - so it's part of the game.

"We know where we're going with it and we'll make an appointment sooner rather than later. But it's not one to be rushed. We have to make sure that everything correct is in place."

Nevertheless, with George Boateng and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink out of contract this summer and Chris Riggott and Mark Viduka attracting interest from elsewhere, time is of the essence.

After McClaren delivered his final address to his players in the aftermath of Wednesday's defeat, Gibson entered the dressing room to assure the squad there would be no knee-jerk reaction to their manager's departure.

"I went into the dressing room after the game because I think it was important that, as a club, we should stick together, especially at a difficult time," he said.

"With Steve leaving, he made a speech to the players, but because he is going, it was really up to me to be the authority, to thank the players and to just keep them informed about what was going on behind the scenes at the club."

As a chairman who values loyalty above almost any other attribute, Gibson does not enjoy the rigmarole that accompanies a managerial search.

This summer, though, his efforts will go a long way towards determining Middlesbrough's future.