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Tony Pulis is expected to leave Middlesbrough this week.

The manager’s 18-month Boro contract is set to expire and will not be renewed.

Senior club sources have dismissed reports that the manager has a 12-month extension option that he could exercise.

Pulis joined Boro in December 2017 and his deal took him up to the play-offs at the end of this month.

And it is understood that his deal will not be renewed after failing to make the end of season shoot-out.

The manager is due to meet with chairman Steve Gibson and the club’s top brass this week.

Pulis is no longer at Rockliffe and is believed to be at his Bournemouth home taking a break.

Everyone at the club - including the manager - was obviously disappointed that Boro fell short in seventh place.

Despite a final flurry of five wins out of six Boro missed out on the final day, paying the price for a nightmare run of six successive defeats and some overly cautious performances at home.

(Image: Michael Sedgwick/Focus Images Ltd)

The simmering situation has been left dangling since the end of the season with the manager sending out mixed messages and the club maintaining radio silence.

That has naturally left fans frustrated but it is understood the Hurworth hierarchy wanted to let the dust settle before making a decision.

Pulis himself said after the final day 2-1 win at Rotherham that he would meet the chairman to discuss his future but the timetable and agenda was left vague.

“I’m hoping Steve is going to buy me a nice bottle of red wine and then we can sit down and have a chat about things,” he said.

“I’ll speak to Steve. I don’t think I should be saying anything without speaking to him first. That’s the respect I’ve got for the fella.

“I’m not saying anything until I’ve spoken to Steve. The most important thing, and I think he knows it, is that I’ve given it everything I’ve got. “Let’s talk about it, and see how things go. I’m not really putting a timescale on things, I’ll wait for Steve to give me a ring.

“He’s a wonderful man. I’ve got great respect for him, and a great relationship with him.”

Pulis also claimed after the final game that he thought the seventh place finish was a better achievement than the previous season’s fifth.

It is hard to see club chiefs agreeing with that assessment. The manager was handed a remit of winning promotion and fell short.

And for all the talk of cost cutting in recent press conferences, the manager was still handed £20m to invest in the team only to trail teams on a far smaller budget.

The club are also acutely aware of the widespread dissatisfaction of the style of no frills, low thrills style of play.

Home form in particular has been poor, prompting growing dissent, booing and in the last few games chanting for Pulis to go.

Boro are keen to change tack to a more adventurous and attacking style and believe that will demand a new mentality and a new boss.

That will be at the centre of their thinking over the next few weeks.