BRAD JONES was told what to expect from his new boss by a close friend up in Scotland – and Gordon Strachan has so far lived up to his billing.

Celtic’s Aussie striker Scott McDonald was quick to offer his compatriot memories of working with the man who paid £700,000 to take him to Parkhead two years ago.

There have been numerous observers trying to predict what life will be like under a Scotsman renowned for his volatility and quick-wit and McDonald claims most are correct.

The former Southampton man, however, told Jones that Strachan will be a fantastic manager, with a personality on the training ground that demands success from his players.

“I texted Scott to ask what to expect from the new man and he had nothing but good things to say about him,” said Jones. “That eased it for me when I was waiting for him to come in on Monday morning.

Everyone has reacted well.

From the players at Celtic, noone had bad things to say about him.

“When a new manager comes in you don’t know what he wants or expects. But he was straight out on to the training pitch with his personality and he was quick to get the mood right. We all know what he is like and it’s all business.

“Every manager is different.

Steve McClaren was different to Gareth Southgate, they were different to Bryan Robson, Terry Venables.

Everyone has his own way of playing and the boys are quite keen on what the new manager is doing.

“He has a good way of explaining every detail and showing what he wants.

Everyone was made to learn exactly what he wants. We have young players so that’s good to help them learn.”

Jones does not mind admitting that in the build-up to that first day’s training on Monday, the players arrived early and were careful not to upset the new boss.

However, having experienced Strachan’s infectious approach to the game, there has been an eagerness and desperation on the players’ part to show they deserve to be playing against Plymouth at the Riverside Stadium today.

“He wants to be in among it and that’s good. He is tweaking things because he wants us to play the way he wants,”

said Jones, the Aussie goalkeeper.

“Everyone knows what his sense of humour is like, but it’s all about business and doing things right on the pitch.

“The atmosphere has changed slightly because everyone has been treading on egg shells because they don’t know if they will play.

Everyone has been firing in training because they don’t know if he knows who they are, whether he likes them or not. He will rattle a few people and take people out of their comfort zone.”

Strachan has taken over at the Riverside Stadium when Jones has established himself as the club’s No 1 goalkeeper for the first time.

Since signing nine years ago, the Australian international has had to bide his time while playing second fiddle to Mark Schwarzer for a large part of that time, while he was also pushed out on loan for experience.

The last of those spells was at Sheffield Wednesday at the start of the 2006-07 season, and he uses the memory of that run to discount any theory Middlesbrough are certainties for the Premier League.

“I’m not surprised with how tight it is in the Championship,”

said Jones, knowing Middlesbrough are three points off top but also three points off 11th.

“When I was at Sheff Wed I saw it at first hand, we were near the bottom of the table but only three points off the top half. It’s always been like that in this division. That’s why it’s one of the toughest to get out of. Everyone says it is, but it is. You play Tuesday- Saturday every week, tiredness creeps in and games are lost. We need to pick up points as we can.”