MIDDLESBROUGH might have had their problems in the last 12 months, but Gordon Strachan has warmed up for the opening match of a new era at the Riverside Stadium by paying tribute to the set-up he has inherited.

Strachan has spent the last five days assessing the players he has at his disposal for his first match in charge when Plymouth Argyle visit this afternoon.

He has made no secret of a desire to strengthen his options in the squad, with Birmingham striker Marcus Bent’s arrival on loan yesterday expected to be just the first of a few changes to personnel.

But Strachan has been quick to acknowledge the work that has been done behind the scenes by his predecessors, having quickly learned that duties are professionally and thoroughly carried out around the club.

“It’s well run here, the Academy’s well run, the coaching staff have been very helpful and it’s been very easy here to get information on other teams,” said Strachan.

“It’s been super so far. I thought it would be a lot harder to get information on Plymouth, but it was all right in front of me on Wednesday. It was absolutely fantastic. The set-up is impressive.”

Given his reputation for being volatile, many will be surprised to learn that Strachan was nervous before he started work at the club’s Rockliffe Park training headquarters last Monday.

After a team briefing with his staff and players, however, he quickly settled into the role and he is now intent on making sure his reign as Middlesbrough manager is a success.

“I was nervous when I started this week and that nervousness came from not having worked for a while,” said Strachan, having left his post as Celtic manager at the end of last season. “I think the players were probably nervous too, but I enjoyed it.

“The days I have worked with the players have been excellent.

“My sense of humour may take a while to get used to. My accent is good enough for TV so it is good enough for the players.

“It’s easy to work here, that’s for sure, things are run well, it’s about putting your stamp, your personality on the team.

“That takes time though, just now we’re trying to win games of football and get to the top of the league.

“You don’t know how much needs changing yet, it might just have been a bit of bad luck.”

When Steve McClaren took over from Bryan Robson in 2001 at the Riverside, one of the first things he did was to appoint sports psychologist Bill Beswick as his assistant manager.

The title may not have stuck for the whole five years McClaren was in charge, but Beswick’s presence was constant and that frustrated some members of staff. Even Southgate brought in his own guru to work with players.

Strachan, while admitting that his players can call on one if they like, will not be going down that route. “I am a psychologist. All football managers are psychologists at their club and the best sports psychologist in the world is Alex Ferguson, by a hundred miles,” he said.

“I worked with him for nine years and that’s why I think like that. At St Mirren he created the best football team they ever had. You go to Aberdeen and the best team they ever had was when he was there. You go to Manchester United, the same. Not a sports psychologist in sight.

“It has got nothing to do with what anyone else does, but that is what I believe. I might be completely wrong, but he gets the best out of players.

“That is what makes him so good at his job. One or two may be wounded in that group now and again, but that’s tough. As far as the fans are concerned they are not interested in the ones who are feeling sorry for themselves, whether they have been left out, or brutally dealt with. All the Boro fans want is for the 16 players in the match-day squad to go and win that game.”

Strachan does not compare his managerial style to anyone else, but over the years he has taken little bits from all of those he has worked with, without knowing.

One aspect of Strachan’s approach is that – unlike Southgate, who preferred to leave the coaching to those around him – he will be leading most of the training sessions himself.

“I am what I am, there is a song in there somewhere,” he said. “I do what I do and I like what I do. Whether that is exactly the same or completely opposite to what has gone before I am not interested. I respect everyone’s way of working but this is the way I do it.

“I feel I am a hands-on coach and I have enjoyed being back out there. There are things that you forget after five months out. I was starting to think my voice is starting to go.

“Your voice literally goes at night. That is what I like to be though – very hands-on.”