”Left a nasty taste” - Neil Warnock offers insight into main Middlesbrough disappointment | OneFootball

Middlesbrough's handling of Neil Warnock's exit has seemingly left a bitter taste in the mouth of the 74-year-old, who has been discussing his tenure at the Riverside Stadium ahead of locking horns with the Teessiders again this weekend with Huddersfield Town.

Warnock is back in the dugout with Huddersfield looking to keep them in the Championship in what remains of the 2022/23 season, returning to management for the first time since his Boro exit in 2021.

Having arrived at Boro in the summer of 2020, Warnock kept the club in the Championship during the run-in of the 2019/20 campaign, before leading them to 10th in 20/21 in what was his only full campaign in-charge.

However, in November 2021, following a 1-1 draw with West Brom, Warnock was told he would be leaving Boro to be replaced by Chris Wilder.

Discussing that recently with The Northern Echo's Scott Wilson on the You Are My Boro YouTube channel, Warnock said of his time at Boro: "The biggest disappointment was nothing to do with football really. When I went in the next day after the West Brom game, 9 o’clock to get my gear, I was told I couldn’t go in.

"I said ‘what are you talking about?’ and, well, Chris Wilder and Kieran Scott are having a press conference."

That incident was the one that was tough for Warnock to take.

He continued: "I thought that was lacking a little bit of class, if I’m honest, after what I’d done for the club.

"I was really disappointed. It was the only time I was disappointed in Steve (Gibson) was the lack of class with something like that. They could have organised it better.

"I knew that talks had been going on for a few weeks but to do it like that disappointed me, left a nasty taste in my mouth."

Warnock retired shortly after leaving Boro, only to return to Huddersfield earlier in 2023.

Boro are now under the watch of Michael Carrick and sit third in the Championship table, with a lot of Warnock's former players thriving. They are looking for a victory this weekend against Huddersfield in a bid to keep the pressure on Sheffield United in the race for automatic promotion.

The Verdict

It's always tough for a manager leaving a club in the circumstances Warnock did at Boro.

Talks with Wilder were well underway at the point Warnock left and it wasn't long before he'd been replaced in the Riverside dugout.