WITH their new-look coaching team in place, Middlesbrough have announced a packed pre-season schedule.
Following plans that were initially put in place by Tony Pulis, Jonathan Woodgate will take his squad to Austria for a training camp that will kick off their pre-season preparations.
Boro’s players will spend a week in Bad Aussee – the same based they used with Pulis last season – with their camp concluding with a friendly against Austrian Second Division side Grazer AK on Friday, July 5 (6pm).
After returning to England, the Teessiders will play their first domestic pre-season fixture on Wednesday, July 10 (7.30pm) when they make the short trip up the A19 to take on National League North side Gateshead at the International Stadium.
Another all-North-East affair is scheduled for the following Sunday (July 14), with Boro heading to Victoria Park to take on Hartlepool United (1pm).
The game with Pools will be followed by a short trip to Germany, with Boro taking on Bundesliga 2 side FC Heidenheim 1846 at the Voith-Arena on Saturday, July 20 (4pm).
The following Tuesday (July 23) will see Boro make their first-ever trip to League Two newcomers Salford City (7.30pm), before the club’s pre-season programme concludes with a home game at the Riverside.
French side Saint Etienne, who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Europa League, will travel to Teesside on Sunday, July 28 (3pm), the weekend before the first weekend of Championship fixtures.
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