STEVE AGNEW will have talks with chairman Steve Gibson about his future after Sunday’s final Premier League game at Liverpool, and claims to have learned a great deal during his 11-game spell in charge of Middlesbrough.

Agnew has won just one of his opening ten matches so far, collecting just six points from the 30 available since taking over Aitor Karanka in difficult circumstances in mid-March.

He was challenged with trying to keep Middlesbrough in the top-flight and speculation about his replacement has increased this week after Gibson’s claims he is looking to “change all aspects of the club”.

The chairman is understood to have spoken to candidates on a shortlist and Agnew has previously suggested he would be keen to prove himself in the job on a full-time basis; he also has the support of the dressing room.

And Agnew is ready to have talks with Gibson after the curtain comes down on Middlesbrough’s one season dip into the Premier League at Liverpool, ahead of returning to the Championship in August.

He said: “No, we haven’t had the discussions. The chairman is the best in my opinion, he allows you to manage and get on with the job. We haven’t spoken. We will have discussions at some point but I don’t know when.

“The situation with the club is very delicate because of the way the season has gone, what we have to do is make sure once the season is finished, the Liverpool game out the way, there will be lot of reflection on the season, what we did, what went wrong and ultimately where we are.

“That’s something that will go on over the summer months to hopefully give us a good start in the new season.”

Pressed on whether he would still like to be a frontline manager after his spells as a No 2 at Middlesbrough, Hull City and Hartlepool United, Agnew said: “As an assistant manager over the last five years I have particularly enjoyed it, it’s always been top end of the Championship, promotion seeking or in the Premier League, but being the No 1 is different.

“As I said earlier it’s something I have enjoyed but at the end I have been disappointed with the outcome. Has it put me off eventually being a manager? No it hasn’t.

“It’s not about my situation. We have a game on Sunday that we need to prepare for. I will continue to do that and once the game is over those conversations will take place.”

Talk that Ryan Giggs has been spoken to already has been played down by senior club sources, while the likes of Garry Monk, David Wagner, Nigel Pearson and Alan Pardew are all well fancied.

Agnew has not wanted to think about that, and he feels he has become a better all-round person for the experience of the last couple of months.

He said: “I have enjoyed it in some ways because obviously I knew at the time it was a huge challenge and there has been a hell of a lot to deal with. It’s been enjoyable.

“We didn’t get out what we set out to achieve and that’s the disappointment. Having lost our place in the Premier League is the biggest disappointment and that has been very difficult to accept. At the same time I have learned lots of different things about players, coaching and management.

“It has been probably the management side which has been challenging. Learning about yourself, things that will help me move forward. I will prefer to keep those to myself, but that is something I will do to make sure I continue to be successful.”

With Middlesbrough already condemned to the Championship, Agnew could be forgiven for making wholesale changes at Anfield to give players a chance. He insisted, though, that he will not do that.

Goalkeeper Victor Valdes is sidelined still with a rib problem, while Gaston Ramirez will be overlooked again. Defender Daniel Ayala is available again after recovering from his ankle problem.

Agnew wants his players to put in a performance that could shake up the race for a Champions league spot.

He said: “It’s like we have done for the previous games, we do our coaching, analysis, do everything as professionally as we can and got to Anfield to try to put on a top class performance for our away supporters.

“Anfield is an amazing stadium, a full house with a wonderful atmosphere, it’s a great game for us to play in. Liverpool need to win the game and everyone is really looking forward to it.”