Source: Northern_Echo
No new coach at Boro
GORDON Strachan will not be rushing to appoint a permanent successor to former Middlesbrough assistant Gary McAllister.[LNB] McAllister left his position on Saturday morning when he agreed to become Gerard Houllier's right-hand man at Aston Villa.[LNB] The Scot only joined Boro's backroom staff in May, but Strachan felt he could not stand in his former Leeds United team-mate's way when he was offered a position in the Premier League.[LNB] With Colin Cooper, Martin Scott and Stephen Pears all having left the Teessiders at the start of the summer, the club's coaching options are limited.[LNB] But with highly-rated conditioning coach Roger Spry set to step up his involvement on a part-time basis and Strachan prepared to increase his own coaching workload, there will be no frantic pursuit of an experienced replacement for McAllister.[LNB] I'll see how it goes, said the Boro boss. I'm open minded about it. We are sorry to see Gary leave, but there are a lot of people multi-tasking here.[LNB] I enjoy getting out there on the training field, so if I have the opportunity to get out a bit more, that's fine. In fact, I'm looking forward to doing more coaching.[LNB] And in any case, we've got Roger Spry coming back to us so that's another body on the coaching staff.[LNB] Strachan will oversee preparations for Saturday's Championship game at Watford, a match that will see Boro deprived of the services of full-back Justin Hoyte.[LNB] Hoyte strained his hamstring in the latter stages of Saturday's 3-1 win over Reading and will be sidelined for six weeks.[LNB] Matthew Bates, who was rested against the Royals, is expected to replace Hoyte at Vicarage Road, although a fit-again Tony McMahon is also hoping to be involved.[LNB] Andrew Taylor helped Watford claim a surprise 6-1 win at Millwall on Saturday, but the full-back on a season-long loan from Boro, is ineligible for this weekend's game.[LNB] Andy Halliday, Lee Miller, Luke Williams, Seb Hines and Marvin Emnes are all included in the Boro reserves squad to face Leeds at the Riverside tonight (ko 7pm).[LNB] Admission is free to season card holders and Boro Pride members.[LNB] Former Boro loanee Marlon King has made a controversial return to football by signing a season-long contract with Coventry.[LNB] King's future in the game came under scrutiny when he was released from prison in July, having served half of an 18-month sentence for sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm.[LNB]