STEVE GIBSON insists Steve Agnew will be given every opportunity to earn the head coach job at Middlesbrough on a permanent basis.

Agnew was installed as interim boss following Aitor Karanka’s dramatic departure yesterday, and will take charge of Sunday’s home game with Manchester United.

Beyond that, his future remains uncertain, with Boro having been linked with a number of out-of-work managers including Guus Hiddink, Nigel Pearson and Alan Pardew.

Gibson has been approached by a number of interested parties, but having watched Craig Shakespeare successfully steady the ship at Leicester City, the Boro chairman is hoping Agnew can play a similarly restorative role at the Riverside.

And while some supporters might question the wisdom of placing so much responsibility in Agnew’s hands after his previous game as caretaker boss did not go to plan at Charlton last season, Gibson believes he is a much stronger candidate than many consider.

“I’ve known Steve a long time,” said Gibson. “He’s a very good coach and a very good number two. There’s more to him than people know, and a bit more steel.

“Steve could be a surprise number one. That may disappoint those people who want glamour and somebody to come in ready-made, a sexy name, but that’s not what we need at this point.

“I want to find out about Steve. My phone hasn’t stopped. I’ve had agents offering me obscure individuals and I’ve had some surprises too. At the moment, Steve is going to get all the support we can give him. He’s more than a safe pair of hands.”

Gibson spent Wednesday watching a friend’s horse run at the Cheltenham Festival, but returned to Teesside yesterday to complete the formalities of Karanka’s departure.

He is adamant the decision to end the Spaniard’s three-and-a-half year reign was a mutual one, and is keen to stress the scale of Karanka’s achievements despite Boro’s current position in the Premier League’s bottom three.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with Aitor since the weekend,” said Gibson, in an interview with The Times. “We agreed that a different approach is required.

“Aitor is tired. He has worked so hard for our football club over the last three-and-a-half years, and the tension surrounding the end of last season would have taken its toll on anyone. Then we had a very busy summer.

“He was working his socks off trying to bring players in, and he hasn’t really had a break since the minute he walked through the door. What we concluded – he and I – was that he perhaps wasn’t the guy at this point in time to deliver that change.

“I know people are cynical when you say that a decision was mutual, but he wasn’t sacked. He sacrificed himself. He’s in a good frame of mind. I think he’s relieved.

“He has been enormous for our club. He has progressed us, and he will have learnt an enormous amount from this experience. He’s got a wonderful future in football – I really think that.”