MIDDLESBROUGH are interested in Gary O’Neil as they search for a new manager – and the Teessiders are also set to speak to former Watford boss Rob Edwards as they look to appoint Chris Wilder’s successor as quickly as possible.

Wilder was dismissed this morning after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Coventry City left Boro floundering in the Championship relegation zone.

Leo Percovich will take over first-team affairs on an interim basis, and will oversee Wednesday’s home game with Birmingham City alongside Craig Liddle, Mark Tinkler and Lee Cattermole.

However, chairman Steve Gibson and head of football Kieran Scott would ideally like to have a permanent replacement for Wilder in place by the time Boro travel to Millwall this weekend, and they are investigating the possibility of prising O’Neil from his current position as interim boss at Bournemouth.

Ironically, Wilder was heavily linked with replacing O’Neil at the Vitality Stadium in his final week as Middlesbrough boss.

O’Neil spent four years with Boro as a player, making more than 100 league appearances for the club between 2007-2011. He joined Bournemouth’s coaching staff in February 2021, initially working under former Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate, and was placed in caretaker charge of the Cherries at the end of August following the dismissal of Scott Parker.

He has impressed in his month in the role, leading Bournemouth to a win over Nottingham Forest and draws against Wolves, Newcastle United and Brentford, but his long-term future remains uncertain.

While Bournemouth’s current board are understood to be keen to offer O’Neil a permanent contract until at least the end of the season, it has been suggested that the club’s prospective new owner, Bill Foley, wants to be able to appoint his own choice of boss once he assumes control.

That would explain the current stand-off, which Boro will seek to exploit. The Teessiders are expected to make contact with the Bournemouth hierarchy to discuss O’Neil’s position, although they will move on swiftly if it becomes clear that the 39-year-old will not be leaving the south coast.

Gibson and Scott are expected to speak to Edwards in the next few days, with the highly-rated coach currently out of work following his dismissal from Boro’s Championship rivals, Watford, at the end of last month.

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Having retired from playing at the age of just 30, Edwards worked as part of the academy operation at Wolves before being appointed as the head coach of Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2021.

He led Forest Green to promotion from League Two in his first season in charge, with his efforts seeing him installed as Watford’s new manager this summer. However, he only lasted ten games before he was sacked at Vicarage Road, with Watford’s ownership group turning to Slaven Bilic as his replacement.

Both O’Neil and Edwards are regarded as progressive young coaches who would potentially be a much better fit in Boro’s new off-field structure, led by Scott in his head of football role, than either Wilder or his predecessor, Neil Warnock.

Boro have also been linked with Carlos Corberan, another candidate who fits the ‘head coach’ model rather than being a more traditional ‘manager’.

Corberan worked under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United before being appointed as the boss of Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2020. He led the Terriers to the Championship play-off final last season, where they lost to Nottingham Forest, but resigned his position in July.

He took charge of Greek club Olympiacos in August, but was sacked by the reigning Greek title holders after winning just two of his 11 matches in charge.

Sean Dyche is another out-of-work manager who has been linked with Boro, but it is understood that the Teessiders do not have an interest in the former Burnley boss.