Hasselbaink: Letting Schwarzer and Boateng Go Will Cost Boro!

"They did not bring any experience in and that was always a risk.

"They let a couple of very important players go when I don't think they had to. In the Premier League, there is always a period when you are going to have a difficult spell and, when you have that difficult spell, you need experienced players.

"The other players look at them and go in the right direction if they are guided by players who have been around a lot longer.

"Middlesbrough don't really have that degree of experience. They have not got the experienced players who could help them recover from what is a very difficult period for them right now.

"There is nobody for the younger players to hold on to, either on or off the pitch.

"It is not nice to see Middlesbrough struggling at the wrong end of the table.

"I love coming back to Teesside because I had two very enjoyable years here and we achieved a lot. It was very special to me.

"I am very close to all the clubs I played for, and that includes Chelsea, Leeds, Middlesbrough and Cardiff. I enjoyed playing for all of them. They are all very special.

Would I like to manage one of them one day? It is certainly my ambition to be a manager and I suppose it would help because I know these clubs better than any others.

"But it all depends on what comes up.

"I would like to be a manager - that is the aim. I would be open to almost anything, but I would be very careful because it would have to be the right job.

"I certainly see myself as a manager in the future and feel it is a job I could do well, but it is all about learning. I need to learn a lot of things, like any player who has just retired."