Pundit delivers verdict on Neil Warnock, Middlesbrough scouted Leeds United defender plus Sunderland boss congratulates forward

We round up some of the latest stories concerning the Teessiders ahead of Saturday’s trip to Huddersfield:

Pundit praises Warnock

Boro’s win over Derby was the first game to be shown on the EFL’s highlights show on Quest.

Goals from Britt Assombalonga and Marvin Johnson, either side of a Matt Clarke own goal, saw Neil Warnock’s men record their biggest win since August 2018.

Doncaster Rovers boss Darren Moore appeared as a pundit during the show, a man who played under Warnock at Torquay United.

“I speak very highly of Neil because very early in my footballing career I had Neil at Torquay and he kept us up,” said Moore.

“Neil is right in the ascendancy, that’s seven clean sheets in nine, he’s shown real quality and they are really bang in form.

“It’s also good to see Britt scoring goals again.”

Sunderland boss pleased for Watmore

New Boro signing Duncan Watmore made his debut against Derby and registered an assist for Assombalonga’s opener.

Watmore, 26, left Sunderland in the summer after his contract expired at the Stadium of Light, yet Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson was full of praise for the forward.

“He’s still a young man and I sent him a text to congratulate him on his move,” said Parkinson on Thursday.

“He was excellent, even in my short time with him he wasn’t always in the side but his personality around the building was great.

“We both felt it was time for him to move on and restart his career, it’s taken him a while to get a club but it looks like he’s got off to a decent start.”

Middlesbrough scouted Leeds defender

Finally, Middlesbrough’s former head of recruitment Victor Orta has revealed he first spotted Leeds defender Robin Koch while he was working for Boro.

Koch joined Leeds, where Orta became director of football in 2017, from German club SC Freiburg in the summer,

Speaking to the Athletic, Orta said: “I wasn’t even in Leeds (when I first watched Koch). I was at Middlesbrough, no? But in football, there are not many players you sign without watching them for a long time. This is quite normal.”

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