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Middlesbrough Add Chris Short to Backroom Staff

by
The Non-League Football Paper Team
29 June 2021

Middlesborough today announced that its backroom staff will be strengthened by Chris Short, 51, who will take on the role of a first-team fitness coach at the start of the pre-season. He brings a ton of relevant experience to the table, having played more than 300 games while still active on the turf, then working as technical staff for several teams. The addition, while it may not immediately influence Boro’s standings at safe sports betting outlets, will certainly reflect in the team’s results later on.

A long relationship

“I thought it was important to bring someone in. JT has done a great job, but it needs two people because of the amount of work we do on the fitness side. I think this season especially it is so important that we do everything we can to limit the muscle injuries,” Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock told the team’s website. “I’ve known Chris a long time, he’s very good at what he does, as is JT. We have two top-class staff members here now, and that will stand us in good stead.”

This is not the first time Short and Warnock work together. Actually, they go way back: Chris Short made his senior debut at Scarborough in 1988, when Warnock managed the team, and also played under his help at Notts County at the time Warnock led the team to Third Division.

A long career on and off the turf

Chris Short started his career as a professional football player in 1988 at Scarborough after graduating the Pickering Town youth team. As a defender, he appeared in more than 200 league games between 1988 and 2001 at teams like Notts County, Sheffield, Stoke City, and Hinckley United, among others. Ultimately, he was forced to retire after being diagnosed with a circulation disorder in 2001.

Later, Short worked as a strength and conditioning coach, and fitness coach, at teams like the Blackburn Rovers, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Leicester City and Sheffield United. Since 2018, he was Head of Sports Science with Oxford United, working closely with Karl Robinson’s team.