TONY McMahon has been a player and a coach at Middlesbrough and over the years has become a big fan of the club he led to FA Youth Cup success and represented more than 100 times on the pitch, but next month he'll be in the opposition dugout.

The former right-back is now assistant manager at National League side York City, who Boro face in a pre-season friendly in July.

It's a game McMahon is relishing, a chance to come up against some familiar faces, one in particular who he respects enormously.

Back in 2019, McMahon, a free agent and considering the next step in his career and a move into coaching, was given the chance to help out at Rockliffe by then-Boro manager Jonathan Woodgate, before getting a job in the club's academy.

What McMahon saw and learnt shadowing Woodgate stayed with him, and the former full-back thought it was a masterstroke from Boro to get the former head coach back at the club as part of Michael Carrick's coaching team at the end of last year.

Woodgate's time in charge didn't work out as the former Real Madrid defender hoped but it was a tough time of transition at Boro. And although results didn't go to plan, McMahon was enormously impressed by what he saw day-to-day.

"I know Jonathan really well, he loves the club and he loves his football," said McMahon of Woodgate.

"I was in the lounge at the Riverside with Bernie (Slaven) for the first home game after Carrick's appointment and I remember saying it was a brilliant decision to get Jonathan back.

"Michael was coming in a bit blind so to have someone to help him settle, who knows the environment and knows the players must have been a big help.

"The players loved Jonathan when I was in there. One thing I picked up and learnt from him was his organisation, how organised he was on a day to day basis, game by game, his analysis of games and training.

"I was going in fresh from retiring playing so I hadn't seen that side of it. Now I've seen it from working with Jonathan, they're the things I took on board. I learnt a lot from him: organisation, how he was with players, how he spoke to players, I could talk about him all day.

"That short time I spent with him was invaluable and unbelievable for me moving forward. He wants to learn, he'll say it himself he's always learning. Michael will say the same, every manager and coach is always learning. The more managers you can work under, the more you can see and it helps you moving forward.

"I would love to work with Jonathan again in the future if ever given the opportunity and I’m forever grateful for him giving me the chance to come in and work with him and getting me a job in the academy at Middlesbrough."

McMahon joined Darlington in 2020 while also working as Quakers' Head of Academy. He went on to join the coaching staff at Scunthorpe before his move to York City earlier this year.

During McMahon's stint helping Woodgate out at Rockliffe, he remembers being struck by a young striker who moved up to train with the first team and quickly made an impression on the training pitches. It was Josh Coburn.

Coburn went on to make his mark in the first team under Neil Warnock and Chris Wilder and returns to Boro this summer looking to catch Carrick's eye after a full season spent on loan at Bristol Rovers in League One.

"He was up with the first team then back down with the Under-23s when I was there and it's a bit of a funny place to be," said McMahon of Coburn.

"You might train with the first team for a week or two but then you're still playing 23s games. You're in a bit of no man's land.

"Josh was someone everyone was aware of inside the building. They knew his attributes, what he was good at. I remember when he first came up with the first team, he was full of enthusiasm and was backing into people, smashing into people. I remember thinking 'ouff, he's got a bit about him, he looks like a proper Middlesbrough lad, he's ideal'. But he was really young at the time.

"He broke in, he's been out on loan. I think it's brilliant when young lads go out on loan.

"I did it when I was a kid, I went to Sheffield Wednesday. It was the best thing I ever did. I was nowhere near it, I'd just come back from injury, I went to Sheffield Wednesday for three months and I got recalled in the January and played every game in the Premier League from January until the end of the season."

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With Cameron Archer having returned to Aston Villa after his half season loan spell on Teesside, Boro are in the market to sign a striker this summer, but Coburn will be hoping to impress in pre-season and play his way into Carrick's plans.

Carrick led Boro from struggling at the bottom end of the table to a hugely impressive fourth place finish and despite suffering the heartbreak of a play-off defeat to Coventry City, McMahon is confident his former side can bounce back even stronger next term and is excited by the prospect of Carrick's first full season in charge.

"I think everyone is really excited. I know I am as a fan," he said.

"To see what they did in that short space of time when Michael came in, from where they were to where they ended up. And the football they were playing was the best there's been at the Riverside for a long time.

"Everyone is excited and everyone wants to see who they bring in, the new signings. I don't think the style of play will change too much, that's how he wants to play, but I think the personnel will obviously change a bit. He'll bring players in and hopefully keep hold of players who have done well. It's an exciting time for the club."