AS Julio Arca prepares for his first season in management, he doesn't have to look far to find bosses he admires.

Arca played for Tony Mowbray and against Michael Carrick during the ex-Manchester United midfielder's playing career, and the Argentinian has been enormously impressed by the work of both in the North-East this season.

Both Carrick at Middlesbrough and Mowbray at Sunderland have, in one way or another, defied the odds to make the Championship top six this season and could yet meet in what would be a mouthwatering final at Wembley at the end of May.

Arca, who played for both clubs, of course, wouldn't have predicted the final second tier standings looking like they did when Alex Neil left Sunderland in August and Chris Wilder got the boot at the Riverside a couple of months later.

Boro looked destined for a long, hard season of struggle after a poor start to the campaign, while for Sunderland this season was supposed to be about consolidation.

"Tony has done a fantastic job," says Arca.

"I've been following the two of them all season and seen Sunderland, with all the problems with the strikers and injured players."

Arca, like most on Wearside, was slightly baffled by recent links with Francesco Farioli, though that speculation was "hugely played down" by Kristjaan Speakman when he held talks with Mowbray last week.

Arca believes Sunderland already have the ideal man for the job.

He said: "I think he's the right manager and is doing a fantastic job. To question whether he'd stay or go is unfair. Whatever happens, they've had a fantastic season coming from League One.

"They've probably over-achieved but it's good and it's exciting. Next season will be important to push on again and hopefully get to the Premier League, but it could happen this season."

As it could for Boro, whose play-off place was secured with three weeks to spare and are now preparing for a semi-final double header against Coventry.

"Middlesbrough have signed some players who have had a good impact and the manager has been great since he arrived," said Arca.

"The only time they played badly was probably against Sunderland.

"It's good to see the young managers doing well like Carrick. He might not have had the experience but he obviously came from Manchester United with a lot of knowledge. You can see he's doing really well."

Arca recalls coming up against Carrick on the pitch in the top flight.

"He was good, a tidy player, strong," he says.

"He was one of the players that played it simple. He was good at breaking lines, getting the ball and giving it to those who could create."

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While Arca wishes Boro and Sunderland well, his immediate focus is on plotting his own promotion push from the National League North after replacing Kevin Phillips as South Shields manager.

Shields are very much on the up and a club transformed from when Arca joined as a player back in 2015, helping to win three successive promotions and skippering the Mariners to FA Vase glory in 2016/17, one of four trophies in a memorable season.

"I remember my first game was Stokesley here in front of 400, 500, 600 fans," recalls Arca.

"The state of the pitch wasn't great, we only had one stand. I see the club right now and the things the club have achieved, not just on the football side, but off the pitch, it's great.

"The club can go even further. How long will it take, I don't know, but I think the club can go further. We have a chairman who is backing the club 100% and the fans, the fans turn up in waves and support the team.

"The community of South Shields is growing in every aspect. I see in South Shields all the things that will allow the club to keep progressing."

Having spent some time back in his homeland working on the coaching team of a third tier side, Arca was eyeing up a management career but the call from Shields came sooner than he expected,

He says: "I came back about nine months ago and started my A Licence only a few weeks ago and then this opportunity presented itself. It happened pretty quick but opportunities like that you need to take."

That was the case for Arca back in December when he got the opportunity to watch his beloved Argentina in a World Cup final. There was a mad rush to get to Qatar when he learnt that there was a ticket waiting for him, but that was an opportunity he was never going to pass up.

"I obviously didn't plan it and then Argentina beat Croatia (in the semi-final)," he says.

"I had friends over there and they told me they could get me a ticket. I got myself there.

"It was fantastic. It was a stressful game to watch but probably one of the best if you weren't from Argentina or France. It was fantastic, especially seeing the best player in the world. There were a lot of people from Argentina. It was great to be there, it was a unique experience."