McClaren led Twente to second place in last season's Dutch league

Ex-Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren has warned his former club that life in the Championship will not be easy following relegation last season.

McClaren, who is now in charge of Dutch club FC Twente, believes promotion must be achieved at the first attempt, "otherwise you sink".

He told BBC Tees: "We have seen that with Charlton.

"It's very difficult, there's a lot of pressure and there's a lot of capable teams. It's a different league."

Much has been made of chairman Steve Gibson's support of McClaren's successor at the Riverside, Gareth Southgate, despite the club's slump during the last campaign.

Some sections of the club's support have criticised the chairman for retaining Southgate in charge, but McClaren says from his experience, Gibson is a loyal person to work for.

"I had five years there, and naturally there were ups and downs and you have your squabbles but we were always straight with other and had a good working, and personal relationship," he said.

"I think the relationship grew as we went along and the main aim was Middlesbrough Football Club and I think we worked well towards that end.

"I'm not surprised he stayed with Gareth, he knows what goes on behind the scenes, he's got great faith in him that he (Southgate) can get them back up."

McClaren remains Middlesbrough's most successful ever manager, taking them into Europe and the 2006 Uefa Cup final against Sevilla, as well as lifting their first silverware with the 2004 Carling Cup win over Bolton at the Millennium Stadium.

He left to manage England, and after a poor spell in charge of the national team, which culminated in missing out on the European Championships in 2008, he joined Twente and led them to a runners-up spot in the Eredivisie and a Champions League place in 2008-09.

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