Last Saturday was the first time this season that Strachan has felt in the mood to verbally blast his widescreen, as Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh deliver verdicts on the dreamers. If Boro lose, he tends to watch in silence.
It is not that Strachan hates ITV1's flagship show, in fact he is gripped.
But leading Boro to a Saturday victory, like he did against Reading seven days ago, makes it far more enjoyable when he returns home to press play on his Sky+ remote.
I watch it and cringe behind the settee. I ask the wife are they still on' It is horrific,
said the Middlesbrough manager.
Regardless of the result against Watford I will be there on Saturday night watching the X Factor.
If I have lost I just watch it in silence. If we have won I enjoy it and go through all the motions, the whooping and hollering that everyone else does. You feel for the people who have done badly and think, what are they doing on that stage Why do it Somebody tell them to get off.
I love watching X Factor. I am waiting for that one moment when a Susan Boyle walks on. The Irish woman they had a few weeks ago was also very good. But the useless ones, you can tell within a second.
Strachan compares the moment the would-be singers on X Factor line up in front of the judges to when the punters call football phone-ins to voice their anger and frustration about their beloved club.
Had he been listening to such radio stations this season, he would have found a lot of the criticism being hurled in his direction. With that in mind, he is not about to volunteer to be a guest judge on X Factor in the absence of Danni Minogue.
No, get away. You've got to get a life. The judges sit there and go you're rubbish, and you're rubbish'. What a great job. said Strachan. The same people who go on X Factor ring up the radio.
I'm convinced they go on X Factor then say I have got to go and ring a phone-in now.
It's the same people. If my son said to me I am going on a phone-in now dad', I'd say what No way, don't even think about it.
We can speak about it, you don't have to ring up a phonein and listen to all that nonsense.
It is the same people.
They have no mates.
The mood around the Riverside Stadium has eased slightly on the back of successive victories over Burnley and Reading, which has closed the gap to second-placed Ipswich to four points.
Strachan will not be taking anything for granted ahead of this afternoon's outing at Vicarage Road, knowing Watford won 6-1 at Millwall last week.
There was no celebration after two wins in a week.
When you win you do get a kind of glow and when you lose you feel down, simple as that, he said.
The glow doesn't last for more than a wee while, then I jump on the sofa and watch X Factor all night. That is my way of relaxing.
Watford are likely to name Josh Walker, allowed to leave on a free in August by Strachan, on the bench today, while Andrew Taylor is ineligible under the terms of his three-month loan from Boro.
Taylor has been told he could still return to the club, provided he shows he deserves a chance to shine under a manger who has been reluctant to play him regularly.
Players decide their own future. Josh and Danny Graham, who has done well at Watford and Carlisle since leaving Middlesbrough, did,
said Strachan. I have not made up my mind on Andrew.
Not at all.
Andrew needs games. He might have a decent pedigree, but many Under-21 players are now playing in the Conference, lower than the Championship, and I never take under-21 level as seriously.
He has played a lot in the Premier League, but that was three years ago.
I was playing 13 years ago and looked no bad either. Players have to show they deserve it. They determine their own future.
Source: Northern Echo
Source: Northern Echo