Rob Edwards poised for Middlesbrough manager’s job after impressing owner

. UK edition

Rob Edwards
Rob Edwards led Luton into the Premier League in 2023. Photograph: Shaun Brooks/Action Plus/Shutterstock

Rob Edwards is poised to take charge at Middlesbrough, replacing Michael Carrick

Rob Edwards is poised to take charge at Middlesbrough after impressing the owner, Steve Gibson. Only an unforeseen 11th-hour hitch will prevent the 42-year-old former Luton manager being in charge when Boro’s players start pre-season training at the end of June.

Edwards will replace Michael ­Carrick, who was sacked when the team finished a disappointing 10th in the Championship, after seeing off strong competition from the former Nottingham Forest and Leicester manager Steve Cooper and the Sheffield Wednesday head coach, Danny Röhl. It is understood Edwards ranked high on Gibson’s shortlist in 2022 when Carrick took over.

Bristol City had given serious consideration to recruiting Edwards as Liam Manning’s replacement this month but he was attracted by Boro’s infrastructure and the chance to reunite with the club’s head of football, Kieran Scott, a former colleague at Wolves. Apart from the 35,000-­capacity Riverside Stadium, Boro possess Rockliffe Park, an impressive training facility attached to a luxury hotel in a village south of Darlington.

Gibson will challenge Edwards to repeat the feat he achieved with Luton in 2023 and lead the club into the Premier League. Luton then finished 18th in their first season in the top flight for 32 years, six points behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest.

Luton are back in League One after a disastrous campaign that included Edwards being sacked in January.

The former Wales, Aston Villa and Wolves defender coached England’s under-16s before leading Forest Green to promotion from League Two in 2022. A brief spell at Watford preceded Edwards’s installation at Luton and he swiftly choreographed promotion via the playoffs.

Gibson is believed to have been impressed by Edwards’s extensive knowledge of Boro’s squad, broad tactical blueprint, commitment to youth development and candour regarding his final few months at Luton.