Neil Warnock is back doing what he loves and has every chance of another promotion with Middlesbrough

Neil Warnock has always been an interesting character at all the teams he has managed in his career but he always delivers results wherever he has been and is starting to make a real impact at Middlesbrough.

It’s fair to say the 72-year-old is still loving his work and his passion for the game is clear for all to see. Warnock can still be observed barking at officials, grilling his players and showing a real personality on the touchline which everyone has always associated with the Boro’ boss.

Despite his age, he still lives and breathes football and is getting the very best out of this group of Middlesbrough players. His team put in a brilliant performance yesterday afternoon to beat Reading 2-0 at the Madejski, a result which lifts the Yorkshire club to 46 points and just three points off the play-offs.

Warnock has certainly done the rounds in the managerial game, managing no less than 18 clubs in his 31-year managerial career to date and he is certainly showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

His energy and passion to get results at the highest level is a delight to watch, his teams have always been known to be tight and hard to beat but he’s made this Middlesbrough a threat in attacking areas too, scoring 36 goals in 31 games this term which is more than you would expect from a Warnock-led side.

Despite still being a little way off the play-off places, the veteran certainly offers huge amounts of experience in the Championship, having earned promotion from the second tier with four separate clubs, most recently Cardiff City, who Warnock’s men are level on points with and host next weekend at the Riverside.

The Boro’ boss has managed over 1,500 games across his career and his longevity is credit to him and with his hard work. He has achieved a win rate of over 40 percent across his career which just symbolises just how much he has managed to get out of a number of squads through the years and his work continues to earn plaudits.

It was very clear to see that the Sheffield-born manager is still very with it tactically, constantly changing parts to his side’s play and telling his players to move in and out of different systems, while also telling them to pick the right moments to launch an attack, particuarly in the second half when the game was in control.

He has always been a manager known for changing things and not settling for second best, and despite being 2-0 to the good midway through the second half, the Englishman took Duncan Watmore off who was struggling in the second period in place of Marvin Johnson and the move paid off with the Boro’ number three providing a real freshness in the final 25 minutes of the game.

He only joined the club last summer, taking over a side that avoided relegation by just five points last season under Jonathan Woodgate, who has since done well at Bournemouth in interim charge following the sacking of Jason Tindall on the south coast.

This just shows how much of a difference the 72-year-old can still have and his acumen in the market is still to be admired. The decision to add the likes of Watmore (initially on a short term deal), ‘keeper Marcus Bettinelli on loan and Sam Morsy from Wigan have all paid dividends for Warnock this season.

All three have had a real impact at the club and have helped to play them back into the play-off picture which seemed unlikely at the start of the new year.

Warnock was full of praise for Morsy in his post-match press conference, labelling it as the best performance he has seen in a Boro’ shirt for the former Wigan man. The Boro’ boss also held a huddle on the pitch after the game to highlight some of his key performers against the Royals.

“That’s the best I’ve seen Sam Morsy play since he’s come here. He covered every blade of grass. We had a round of applause for him.

“In the huddle it was a round of applause for Sam Morsy, I thought he was incredible. I’ve never seen him play like that.

“He broke it up, he did everything.

“He’s normally an unsung hero who will get six out of ten. He was magnificent.”

Warnock continues to work his magic in the Championship and it would be a brave man to bet against him getting his side in the play-off places at the end of the season despite still being three points off sixth place.

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