Exclusive: Sky pundit reacts to 'strange' Middlesbrough manager search update involving Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | OneFootball

Former Chelsea man Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been linked with a short-term posting to cover for Rob Edwards’ departure

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been linked with a return to Middlesbrough as a caretaker head coach until the end of the season.

The report comes from journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, with Boro on the hunt for a new manager after unexpectedly losing former head coach Rob Edwards to struggling Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 53-year-old played for the club from 2004 to 2006, and is now believed to be in contention to take the reins until the end of the season, while club executives decide on their next steps.

We asked Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman whether this is an unambitious step from the promotion contenders, and whether they should be looking for a longer-term appointment.

Don Goodman “surprised” by Middlesbrough caretaker search

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman said: “Yeah, I do understand that question, really.

“It does, on the face of it, seem a little bit strange to be only looking for somebody on a very short-term basis.

“This is a club that engaged with a manager, albeit he has departed quicker than anybody would have wanted, but the whole idea of bringing Rob Edwards in was that it was a project. It was a long-term thing.

“And I think that's the direction that Middlesbrough should be looking in reality, is longer term.

“If Jimmy was willing to come in and then, once they got their man, be part of a backroom team, then that would make things slightly different.

“But yeah, if it were Jimmy appointed as the number one until the summer, I'd be really surprised by that.”

Short-term search shows just how shocked Middlesbrough were

Boro appointed Edwards in June this year on a three-year contract, clearly seeing him as the best placed to take their project forward.

That looked a wise decision, with the north-east club only behind Coventry City in the Championship – until out of nowhere, he was off to Wolves, the club he made 111 appearances for as a player.

Goodman is right to point out that Boro saw Edwards as a long-term manager, and that’s exactly why searching for a caretaker manager makes some sense.

They were not expecting to lose Edwards so soon, and as such will not have been weighing up other candidates to take over.

They appointed Edwards as the ideal man to carry out the next stage of growth at the club for a reason, taking time to identify whether or not he was the right fit, and so will not want to rush appointing his successor.

Rather than rush their search over this November international break, and hand out another three-year contract on a whim, taking stock for the rest of the season and taking the time to do some proper succession planning does make some sense.

However, it is incredibly unfortunate timing that Boro are having to consider this when they’re second in the league.

Not only that, they’re up in the automatic promotion spots when other clubs, particularly those with parachute payments from the Premier League, are all struggling; they may never get a better shot at promotion to the top tier.

It is not the ideal time to be getting in an interim manager, like Hasselbaink, who hasn’t had the top job at a club for three years – but equally, it is coaches in that bracket that are likely to be open to such a deal.

Hasselbaink has a decent EFL record and a good connection to the club, so while Boro continue to look long-term amid the unfortunate scenario they’ve been plunged into, a figure like that might be a novel way to make the best of a bad situation.