McAllister will work alongside Strachan as first-team coach

Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan has appointed former Coventry colleagues Gary McAllister as first-team coach and Jim Blyth as goalkeeping coach.

McAllister, 45, worked as a player under Strachan at Highfield Road, before management roles with the Sky Blues and Leeds United.

Blyth, 55, was goalkeeping coach at both Coventry and then Celtic before he left along with Strachan in May 2009.

The pair join another colleague in Garry Pendrey at the Riverside.

McAllister's appointment at the club reunites the former Scotland international player with a manager who was also a team-mate and title winner at Leeds United in 1992, prior to his stint in charge at Highfield Road.

As a player McAllister made his name as an elegant midfielder for Leicester, Leeds, Liverpool and Coventry, and also had spells in management, which were punctuated by the passing of his wife.

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Blyth's playing career saw him make more than 150 appearances for Coventry and make two appearances for Scotland as a goalkeeper, skills which he has transferred into a specialist goalkeeping coach role.

Both will join Strachan, Pendrey and the squad on their training camp trip to the La Manga resort in Spain on Saturday.

Strachan recently parted company with coaches Colin Cooper, Stephen Pears and Martin Scott at the Riverside, having inherited the trio when taking over from former boss Gareth Southgate in October 2009.

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