Square pegs in round holes for Strachan

Published: 07 Feb 2010 - 11:31:31

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Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan admits it will take time for his new players to gel following the 1-1 draw at Ipswich.Ipswich opened the scoring through new signing Daryl Murphy after just 22 seconds, but Boro hit back in the second half when Gary O'Neil swung in a corner and David Wheater rose highest to send a header spinning into the net."I thought it was a fair result. Ipswich were the better team in the first half," Strachan said. "We were getting used to a right-back playing in the middle of the park and a left-back playing on the left of midfield."We weren't ready for that type of game, with so many new players, and it was unsettling."He added: "The fact we then went a goal down so early on threw the guys who were playing out of position into a bit of shock. But our mental strength got better as the game went on. We showed we can play but we have to learn to be more professional in the first couple of minutes."Sometimes when a team score early on it's a brilliant goal and you can't do anything about it. But with this one we were so embarrassed, down the left-sided area, that we crumbled. It took us until half-time to settle everyone down."