Gareth Southgate vs Gordon Strachan adds extra spice to World Cup showdown at Wembley
The way Southgate was replaced by his Scottish rival at Middlesbrough still irks with the interim England boss
GARETH SOUTHGATE against Gordon Strachan adds extra spice to Friday's World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
When England interim boss Southgate claps eyes on Scotland chief Strachan he will doubtless recall how the Scot replaced him as manager of Middlesbrough in 2009.
No one could blame Southgate for still feeling sore after Boro owner Steve Gibson confirmed the former club captain's fate was already sealed before his last game in charge.
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And insiders say Southgate was convinced Strachan had already been offered the job before the 2-0 loss at Derby that sealed his fate after a three-and-a-half year stretch.
Strachan, it seems, had been a guest of Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb at a game just days before, while Boro chairman Steve Gibson admitted after the Derby setback that the decision to sack Southgate had been made two to three weeks previously.
"We already had a strategy for Gareth's replacement," Gibson is reported to have said. "The timing of Gareth's sacking was determined a little by the implementation of that strategy.
"As difficult a decision as it was to make, the decision was made before last night's match. One good result wasn't going to change that decision.
"In general, the results and the performances have not been to the level I would have hoped for."
Southgate and Strachan have engaged over the last seven years, working as pundits for ITV.
But previous tensions could surface this week as Southgate, placed in temporary charge of the national team following the departure of Sam Allardyce, looks to improve on a disappointing 2-0 victory over Malta and a laboured 0-0 draw against Slovenia.
He has two more games to prove his credentials to the Football Association: against Scotland and the friendly with Spain next week.
Southgate is yet to reveal whether he wants the job on a full-time basis, whilst there are also rumours suggesting the FA are considering more experienced options.
Strachan, meanwhile, needs to get one over England if the Scots are to stand a decent chance of quailfying for the 2018 World Cup finals.
But he has given his full backing to former England international Southgate and believes he would make a great full-time appointment.
Said Strachan: "He's a great man and he takes things in. As a football player I could see him getting better and better as he got older, taking information in. He'll be the same as a manager.
"He'll need broad shoulders. You all need them. Especially as an England manager."
England currently top qualifying Group F while Scotland are down in fourth position, three points behind the table-toppers.