Middlesbrough sack Woodgate and appoint Warnock as manager

File Photo: Championship - Middlesbrough v Nottingham Forest - Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, Britain - March 2, 2020 Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate Action Images/Lee Smith

Relegation-threatened Championship side Middlesbrough sacked former England international Jonathan Woodgate as manager on Tuesday and appointed the veteran Neil Warnock as his replacement.

The announcement came after a 3-0 defeat by Swansea City at the Riverside last Saturday left the second tier side above the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Middlesbrough won nine of their 38 league matches under Woodgate, a former club captain and Real Madrid defender who was appointed on a three-year deal in June last year.

File Photo: Championship - Swansea City v Cardiff City - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - October 27, 2019 Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock Action Images/Craig Brough

Middlesbrough said Woodgate had been relieved of his role on Tuesday morning, with 71-year-old Warnock taking over at his 16th club with immediate effect.

Woodgate had served on Boro's coaching staff under former manager Tony Pulis, his predecessor who left after failing to secure promotion to the Premier League.

Warnock holds the record for most promotions in English soccer with a career tally of eight after guiding Cardiff City to the Premier League in 2018. He left them last November after relegation and a poor start to the season.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)