NEIL'S ‘ELATED' TO WIN ON BIG DAY

MIDDLESBROUGH marked Neil War-nock’s 1,500th league game as a manager with victory over Barnsley, and he admitted it was “as enjoyable as ever to win”.

- Gary Walker

He reached the milestone 33 years after his first game as a Football League boss ended with his Scarborough side drawing 2-2 with Wolves.

Match 1,500 saw Middlesbrough beat Barnsley thanks to goals from Jonny Howson and Chuba Akpom, and ensured Warnock made a successful return to the dugout after completing his recovery from a bout of Covid-19.

Warnock said: “I do feel it’s quite a good achievement to get to 1,500 games, especially in the modern-day.

“It’s great to get that three points off your back at home. Apparently, we hadn’t won here (in the league) since Boxing Day – I think I was fishing then!

“It still feels as enjoyable as ever to win, although the thing with 1,500 games is that when you get to my age, you don’t really remember anything other than last week!