Boro legend labels axed Gordon Strachan an 'embarrassment on verge of insanity'

The Paisley-born Middlesbrough legend has criticised the former Celtic manager for his running of the Teeside club.

Chairman Steve Gibson handed Strachan his P45 on Monday after a year-long spell in which he managed a dismal 13 wins from 46 games in charge.

And Boro hero Slaven insists the decision to remove Strachan was long overdue, with the club languishing near the bottom of the Championship.

Slaven said: "I commented after the Leeds game on Saturday that I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon Strachan was sacked before Monday. I wasnt wrong, his departure was inevitable.

"After a year in charge, we had not improved one iota - the football was average, away results were abysmal, the worst league position in 20 years and he still doesn't know his best team.

"It wasn't just on the field that Strachan let himself down, off the field during post-match interviews he became an embarrassment to himself, the club and the fans. He was arrogant, obnoxious, sarcastic, cutting and rude. He came across to me like a man who was on the borderline of insanity. With the club two points off the relegation zone and the home fans chanting 'Strachan out' chairman Steve Gibson was under severe pressure. The only way he could relieve this pressure from himself and the club was to part company with the manager."

Slaven joined Middlesbrough in 1985 after a goal-laden spell at Albion Rovers. He spent eight years on Teeside, scoring 146 goals in 381 games. Kevin Thomson, meanwhile, insists that Middlesbrough's 'Tartan Army' weren't to blame for Strachan getting the axe. Thomson was one of a batch of signings from the SPL, including Kris Boyd, Stephen McManus, Barry Robson, Willo Flood, Scott McDonald and Lee Miller. But the ex-Rangers midfielder believes the Scots shouldn't carry the can for Strachan's departure.

He said: "It's obviously a wee bit frustrating. I've been in situations before where managers have moved on and it's important the players stick together. I did say before I came down to Middlesbrough that the manager was a big factor in me signing and he's a top man.

"But, unfortunately, things have not worked out the way he would have hoped and the way we would have hoped. It's down to the players to roll the sleeves up and get the club back to where we think we belong. Ultimately, football is a results business and, if things don't go your way and you don't get the points on the board, people will come under pressure."Even before I joined, I'd always heard that the chairman down here has been great with his managers and always backed them. We thought the manager might get more time, but we don't know what happened and, obviously, they parted company. We have banter with the local lads, but if the general public feel that the players the manager signed and brought down from Scotland were not cut out for the Championship, then that is their opinion. But we have been successful players wherever we have played and I don't see any reason to point the finger at the Scottish players.

"Everybody, not only the Scottish lads but also the local lads, would have to look in the mirror and say we haven't pulled our weight. But to point the finger at certain nationalities or certain players would be pretty immature."

Thomson would have no complaints if his former Hibs manager Tony Mowbray landed the Boro hot-seat. He said: "Tony is, obviously, the bookies favourite and I've worked under him. He was a big fans favourite down here as a player and it seems to be the fans are shouting for Mogga and want him to get the job."