BORO great David Mills and ex-first team coach Gordon McQueen are returning to the club to help find the stars of the future.

Mills and McQueen will strengthen the recruitment department headed by chief scout Dave Leadbeater. They will work alongside the Academy recruitment team led by Ron Bone and including Martin Carter.

Mills, 56, was formerly assistant chief scout at Newcastle, where he worked under seven managers, and McQueen, 55, has enjoyed working as a match analyser for Sky TV.

Chief executive Keith Lamb hailed the new recruitment team as a major step forward for the club.

"David and Gordon will be part of an expanded, new-look football recruitment department that will combine our senior and Academy recruitment staff," he said.

"As a result of the new set-up, greater attention will be given to the 15 to 18 age groups in which the recruitment of Academy players needs to correlate with the future requirements of the first-team squad.

"Gordon and David will ensure they have a good idea of the quality of players we have in different positions within that age range to enable them to better assess what talent is coming through and where we potentially need to strengthen.

"Along with Dave Leadbeater, they will look throughout Europe and beyond for players who will benefit the first team.

"Sometimes we need to bring in ready-made first team players, but we are also looking to improve our ability to bring in players with the potential to develop into the highest quality under the guidance of our coaching staff.

"We are broadening our horizons, which is something we have to do if we want to compete with the best."

The senior recruitment team will report to Gareth Southgate, with the Academy duo reporting direct to David Parnaby.

Whitby-born Mills enjoyed huge success as a player with Boro, having been a key component of the Jack Charlton side that romped to the Second Division title in 1974. He scored more than 100 goals for the club in two spells spanning almost two decades, totaling almost 400 appearances.

In between he set a British transfer record when he moved to West Bromwich Albion for almost £500,000 in 1979, and he also had spells at Newcastle, Sheffield Wednesday and Darlington.

"I never dreamed that I would return to Middlesbrough," he said, "but I'm excited about the prospect of working with Gareth, Gordon and Dave as we set about identifying players who can take the club forward, and not just for the short term.

"I've kept in contact with people such as Colin Cooper, Ron Bone, Dave Parnaby, Stan Nixon and Malcolm Crosby, and I'm looking forward to working with the rest of the recruitment team.

"There is always competition for good players but, between us, we will try to identify players who are right for Middlesbrough Football Club."

Former Scotland international McQueen, who starred for Manchester United and Leeds, first joined Boro as reserve team coach under Bryan Robson in 1994. He took over first-team coaching duties when John Pickering left through illness and departed Middlesbrough when Steve McClaren chose a new background team in 2001.

McQueen, who still lives locally, said: "I've become attached to the area and my son, Eddie, is a Boro fan and season card holder.

"First and foremost the priority will be to get the club value for money in the transfer market and help Gareth Southgate become the excellent manager I am convinced he will become.

"It will be a matter of identifying players that improve the club in general. David Mills and I have been around long enough to know what's required for the Premier League and I'm looking forward to speaking with Gareth about the sort of profile he requires."