HAVING taken charge of his first game since replacing Aitor Karanka last weekend, Middlesbrough head coach Steve Agnew is now turning his attention to the trip to Swansea City a week on Saturday.

With the Swans currently sitting in 17th position, it is surely imperative Boro claim at least a draw at the Liberty Stadium and Agnew will be pondering what tactics and personnel to select for the game in South Wales.

What are the big decisions facing the Boro boss? And what should he do to give his side the best possible chance of a positive result?


SHOULD HE START WITH TWO UP FRONT?

The Northern Echo:

Boro might have lost to Manchester United at the weekend, but for a 15-minute spell in the second half, they had their opponents on the back foot. It was a hardly a coincidence that that 15 minutes came when Agnew brought on Rudy Gestede and switched formation to a 4-4-2.

One of the main criticisms of Karanka was his refusal to even consider the option of playing with two strikers in tandem, but Alvaro Negredo seemed to benefit from having Gestede alongside him and Boro created more opportunities in the final quarter of Sunday’s game than they had mustered in the best part of a month under their former head coach.

Should Agnew start with both Gestede and Negredo at Swansea? There is an argument that such a move might make Boro numerically vulnerable at the heart of midfield, but it could well be time to throw caution to the wind.

At the very least, if Agnew is not going to start with two strikers on the pitch, he should be prepared to switch to that formation as soon as things start going wrong. As Sunday proved, Boro’s players are capable of making it work.


SHOULD ADAMA TRAORE START – AND IF SO, WHERE?

The Northern Echo:

Adama Traore’s absence from Sunday’s starting line-up was something of a surprise, and it should surely not have taken until the 68th minute to get Boro’s most exciting attacker on the field.

Traore offers something no other Boro player can muster – namely pace, creativity and a willingness to run at opponents and take people on. A lack of end product continues to be an issue, but given that Agnew’s side have managed just four goals in their last 11 league games, they cannot afford to ignore Traore’s assets.

He should start at the Liberty Stadium, and the sensible money would be on Agnew selecting him on one of the flanks. However, there is an argument he could be even more effective infield.

Boro have tried Gaston Ramirez and Stewart Downing in the ‘number ten’ role this season, to limited effect. Traore looks a much more interesting proposition, and would surely relish the freedom of a creative role behind the front line. With just ten games remaining, it is time to find out.


IS BERNARDO ESPINOSA THE BEST BET AT CENTRE-HALF

The Northern Echo:

Agnew will be hoping Calum Chambers is available for a week on Saturday, but the Arsenal loanee has not trained this week as he continues to struggle with a foot injury.

If Chambers is fit, then he starts against Swansea. If he isn’t, then Agnew is faced with a dilemma. Bernardo was all over the place against Manchester United, with his lack of pace and mobility repeatedly exposed.

Can the Colombian be relied upon to produce an improved performance in eight days’ time? He might have to be if Daniel Ayala doesn’t recover from his own hamstring problems, but Agnew must be concerned at the prospect of Bernardo lining up against the dangerous Fernando Llorente.

Could Antonio Barragan be moved infield? The Spaniard started the season playing at centre-half and looked reasonably accomplished in the role. Might he be a better bet alongside Ben Gibson if George Friend was to be passed fit to enable Fabio to switch flanks?


HOW MANY CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS?

The Northern Echo:

For the majority of this season, Karanka selected Adam Clayton, Adam Forshaw and Marten de Roon in the central area. On countless occasions, it felt like too many players trying to do the same job.

Agnew tinkered with things slightly on Sunday, with Clayton sitting deep and Grant Leadbitter and de Roon playing ahead of him. However, until Leadbitter departed midway through the second half, it still felt as though there were too many defensively-minded players in midfield.

Given his side are playing away from home a week on Saturday, Agnew could be tempted to keep things tight early on, but the last few months have proved that shoring things up at one end tends to make Boro easy to contain at the other.

Prior to Sunday, Agnew spoke of the need to enhance Boro’s attacking threat. Dispensing with a central midfield player might be one way of doing that.


HOW TO END THE AWAY-DAY BLUES

The Northern Echo:

Boro have claimed one away win this season, and it came in their very first game. Given the match only took place at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, it hardly involved much travelling anyway.

Since then, the club’s away record has featured a succession of disappointments, interspersed with the occasional dogged draw. Is it time for a major shake-up?

Having tinkered with the pre-match routine ahead of the Manchester United game, Agnew will be examining every aspect of the way in which Karanka used to prepare his side for an away fixture.

Do they travel at the right time? When at what should they eat? Should they hold a team meeting on the morning of the game, or when they arrive at the stadium? Should Agnew deliver one-on-one instructions at the ground, or should that preparation have been completed in the week before? Whatever Karanka was doing, it is safe to assume it wasn’t working.