Middlesbrough sack Chris Wilder after 11 months with club third from bottom

Middlesbrough have sacked manager Chris Wilder after 11 months in charge with the club third from bottom in the Championship.

Boro have racked up only 21 points from their past 20 games under the former Sheffield United boss with a 1-0 defeat by Coventry on Saturday proving to be the last straw.

Rob Edwards, who was sacked by Watford just last week, is reportedly set to be interviewed by the North East club this week and could replace Wilder in the hot seat.

A statement on the Boro website read: "Middlesbrough Football Club have terminated the contract of manager Chris Wilder with immediate effect.

"Leo Percovich will take over first-team affairs in the interim basis, assisted by Craig Liddle, Mark Tinkler and Lee Cattermole.

The club would like to place on record its thanks to Chris and his staff for all their hard work over the past 11 months."

Wilder was left baffled by the goal his side conceded against Coventry on Saturday, as Fankaty Dabo's ball down the line picked out Viktor Gyokeres, who drove towards goal and slotted a finish under returning goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

"The concession of the goal is yet again small details," said Wilder. "We have three throws on the left-hand side and we give every throw away, then from the third one they counter, one ball, and we talk about the threat of (Matt) Godden and most importantly Gyokeres running down the side.

"One of my centre-halves, who's the quickest centre-half in the club, tries to play offside and you're just scratching your head.

"The level of attention and detail that goes into analysis, we've watched Coventry all last year and we've watched them this year, their main threat is Gyokeres and I thought he was the best player on the pitch.

"What you can't do is step up on the halfway line because he'll punish you - he punished us and we're chasing a little bit."

Read more

Mirror Football's top stories

Messi's clear stance on Barcelona return

Klopp responds to Trent criticism

Arteta reveals Smith Rowe demand

Grealish driving for 1st time since ban