STEVE Agnew has paid tribute to Gordon Strachan, describing the former Middlesbrough boss as a “great man manager” who helped set him up for his own career in management.

Agnew will oversee his second game in caretaker charge of Boro when he travels to Norwich City this afternoon.

His first match, a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, came just 24 hours after he was promoted along with Mark Proctor in the wake of Strachan’s resignation.

His predecessor’s position became all but untenable when a sizeable section of the Middlesbrough support called for his head in the closing stages of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds United.

But while Strachan’s departure was widely welcomed when it was confirmed on Monday night, Agnew insists he should be remembered as an honourable man who did his best to turn Middlesbrough around.

“Monday was a sad day because Gordon was nothing but good to me and I wish him all the best for the future,”

said Agnew, who joined Boro’s Academy staff in 2003, before briefly leaving to take up posts at Leeds and Hartlepool.

“When we had back-to-back home wins over Burnley and Reading, we all thought, ‘This is it – we can kick on from here’. But then we had defeats at Watford and Derby and that was tough.

“It’s very difficult to put your finger on what went wrong, but Gordon was constantly striving to improve things in order to improve the results.

“He certainly still had the dressing room because Gordon brought in a good number of the players here and had success with them at previous clubs.

“He had a great sense of humour, he was a pleasure to work with, and he’ll definitely be missed.”

After rejoining Middlesbrough as reserves coach in 2007, Agnew was promoted to a senior coaching position 12 months later following the departure of Steve Harrison.

He has never held a permanent managerial post, and even if he was to lead Boro to only their fourth league win of the season this afternoon, it is hard to imagine his name featuring on Steve Gibson’s shortlist for Strachan’s successor.

Nevertheless, he is determined to become a Football League manager eventually, and feels his prospects have been enhanced by the last 12 months in which he has worked in close proximity to Strachan.

“I’d like to be a manager in my own right eventually,” said Agnew. “Although my sole priority at the moment is getting something out of the Norwich game.

“I certainly feel I am a better coach from working with Gordon. His planning and organisation were excellent, and you kept thinking, ‘When is this all going to slot into place?’ “Gordon was very much a hands-on boss. All managers have different styles – some combine coaching with management, and while he combined both, he did a hell of a lot on the training ground.

“He was a great man manager, the players responded to him and it was always an education to watch him work on aspects of defending or attacking.

“We all have our own ideas, and I have my own ways of doing things, but once Gordon was working, I would watch and listen and think, ‘That is something I like’.”

Having switched to a 4-3-3 formation at the City Ground on Tuesday, Agnew is expected to stick to the same formula at Carrow Road.

Scott McDonald and Leroy Lita will play either side of Kris Boyd, with Kevin Thomson poised to return to the midfield having recovered from the leg injury he sustained against Portsmouth.

Norwich have won three and lost three at home this season, and while Boro’s away form has been wretched, Agnew saw enough on Tuesday to convince him that today’s game is anything but a lost cause.

“The current league position is something no one is enjoying, but the only way we can change it is by winning this weekend’s game,” he said.

“At the very least, we’ll be going down looking to do that.

“There’s some real talent in the squad, but we have to make sure we are organised and set up the right way. At the same time, we also have to play with a little bit more style and little bit more confidence.

“The players have a lot of pride in this club, and that has come shining through in the last few days. Hopefully, that pride will help us get a good result.”