10:37am Wednesday 3rd February 2010
By Scott Wilson
SCOTT McDonald last night claimed the prospect of teaming back up with Gordon Strachan was the main allure behind his deadline-day switch to Middlesbrough.
McDonald completed a £3.5m move from Scotland in the final hours of the transfer window to become the fifth former Celtic player to sign at the Riverside this month.
The Australia international spent two full seasons playing under Strachan at Parkhead, and together the pair won an SPL title and a Scottish League Cup.
They were reunited on Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground yesterday, and McDonald is looking forward to working with a manager he describes as the biggest influence on his career to date.
“I’m really happy to be here,” said the 26-year-old, who is hoping to make his Boro debut at Ipswich on Saturday after recovering from the hernia injury that sidelined him at the start of last month. “I had a lot of success under the manager and I’m looking to continue that.
“The manager being here was a massive part of my decision to come. I believe I became a much better player under him and I want to keep improving as a player.
“I want to score the goals that help Middlesbrough to promotion, and I fully believe we can do that this year.
“I had a fantastic time at Celtic, but the time was right for me to press on with my career.
Hopefully, I can now score plenty of goals for this club.”
McDonald joins a Boro squad that has dropped four points below the play-off positions, but having witnessed Strachan’s motivational qualities at first hand in Scotland, the striker is convinced his manager can inspire a promotion push in the second half of the season.
“The manager has a lot of faith and belief in me,” he said. “But he shows faith and belief in all his players and gives them confidence.
“We had some hard times at Celtic when we fell behind Rangers, but he always stayed bubbly and gave the players confidence.”
McDonald was one of two players to arrive from Scotland on deadline day, with his capture confirmed at the same time as Lee Miller’s £500,000 switch from Aberdeen.
Miller played in Aberdeen’s 3-0 home defeat to Motherwell on Saturday, but after travelling to Teesside on Sunday, the Scotland international was delighted to complete a whistle-stop three days by signing on at Rockliffe Park.
“It was hectic,” said the striker. “But I’m just glad we got it all sorted. It was a surprise.
I’d heard a few rumours and was flattered. Now, I’m just delighted.
“Straight after Aberdeen’s game on Saturday, the manager pulled me aside and told me Middlesbrough were in for me. I didn’t have to think twice, because this is a massive club.”
Meanwhile, West Ham chairman David Sullivan has revealed that Boro striker Mido has agreed to join the Hammers on loan for just £1,000-a-week.
Despite spending the first half of the season at El Zamalek, the Egypt international is still on Boro’s books.
His original Boro contract is understood to be worth around £50,000-a-week, but Middlesbrough officials last night refused to comment on whether they will make up any of the shortfall during his five-month stay at Upton Park.
Sullivan said: “Mido has come to us for a token salary because he wants to prove himself.
“He can earn £50,000-aweek staying where he is or going back to Boro, but he has come to us because he wants to prove himself in the Premier League and he wants to play for West Ham.
“We simply can’t afford Robbie Keane. Of course, we’d have liked him. But it would have worked out at £105,000-a-week for the rest of this season, as well as a transfer fee. We cannot afford it.
“Then we have Mido. It would be one of the most amazing deals of all time. He doesn’t want to be known as a ‘has been’ of English football, so he was willing to come here to play for a nominal fee, just £1,000 a week.”
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