Strachan looking for striker

Strachan: Looking for loans

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New Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan admits he is already looking to sign a new striker.

Strachan already knew when he took over he was short of options with loanee Caleb Folan sidelined, but Boro have also confirmed that Jeremie Aliadiere will be sidelined for six weeks after ankle surgery.

With two of the squad's front-line strikers out, that leaves Strachan with few options as youngster Jonathan Franks is the only back-up to recognised front men Leroy Lita and Marvin Emnes.

And Strachan admits he is now in the unusual position of trying to sign players on loan.

"Usually I am at a club where I am being asked to loan players out, so it has been unusual for me to keep phoning and annoying managers," Strachan told Sky Sports News.

"But we are short in the striking department, we have Leroy - young Franks, and Marvin is a forward - so I think if you look at teams who have been promoted recently they have been strong forward lines in big numbers.

"Sir Alex Ferguson always said to me the most important part of your team is your strikers and we need to make that stronger."

Strachan has been linked with the likes of Chris Iwelumo, Kevin Phillips and Federico Macheda - who were listed on a piece of paper that the new Boro boss carried on his first day in charge.

But he was coy on whether those names were indeed his targets, adding: "Try and find out whether it is my list or not."

Relish

Strachan admits he is relishing his role with Boro and is looking forward to the task of getting them promoted - something he has never encountered in his managerial career with Celtic, Southampton and Coventry.

"I like working with people and different people, I twice took over teams that were second from bottom and then I went to Celtic and the Champions League, and this is different, it is exciting," he continued.

"Hopefully I will try and find a formula to get a team into the Premier League.

"I think at the beginning of the season there were some favourites and I think as it has panned out ten teams could win it, I have seen a couple of live games and I am surprised by the standard."