Strachan secured one of the brightest lights in League One last week when former Charlton skipper Nicky Bailey completed a £1.4m move to the Riverside.
The Boro boss is also hoping to plunder League Two in the next few weeks, with Rochdale's Craig Dawson still a leading target despite his current employers turning down a £450,000 offer from the Teessiders at the start of the summer.
When Middlesbrough were in the Premier League, they paid scant attention to the lower reaches of the Football League.
But with the Championship offering a different standard, Strachan feels Boro can now offer ambitious players a route to the top of the English game.
There's too much of a step now to go from League One or Two up to the Premier League,
he said. So this is a good step for the next level.
Whether we go to the next level as a group or someone like Nicky goes to Manchester United, I don't have a problem with that. Either way, it means he will have been very good for us.
If we can go there as a group, then even better, but it will have been very beneficial for us either way.
Boro will train in the North- East this week before embarking on a two-game tour of Ireland, and Strachan remains confident that Stephen Mc- Manus will be part of the group that crosses the Irish Sea for matches against Athlone Town and Bray Wanderers.
Boro will hold further talks with Celtic in the next 24 hours to iron out the finer details of a deal that will be worth around £1.5m. McManus, who is expected to sign a three-year contract, will then travel to Rockliffe Park to undergo a medical.
Strachan also remains hopeful of re-signing full-back Kyle Naughton following his successful loan spell, and having previously spoken of his dislike of the loan system, particularly short-term stays, the Boro boss appears to be softening his stance.
We hope to get a few more signings before the start of the season, and there might be one or two loans, said Strachan, who has spoken to Arsene Wenger about the possibility of taking at least one young player from Arsenal.
We set the ball rolling on a few things last season, but even with Kris Boyd and Nicky, it takes a long time. A lot of hard work goes into signing a player.
Source: Northern Echo
Source: Northern Echo