Out of work managers face long wait for next job

The football shutdown is especially harsh on those left on the outside looking in

Neil McCann is one of a number of managers currently not involved in coaching. Picture: SNS

In the managerial game of musical chairs, those who were without a perch to park their posterior when football stopped and the world was forced to dance to 
Covid-19’s tune, could be waiting an interminably long time for a return to the party.

That’s the grim prediction from Billy Brown, chairman of the Scottish League Managers’ Association, who says there is the strong likelihood that out-of-work managers, such as John Hughes and Neil McCann, who have made it clear that they would relish a return to the ranks, could be left kicking their heels until the new year as the usual windows of opportunity come and go while the country remains in partial lockdown or any new campaign remains in its infancy.

Scottish football’s shutdown in March has thrown the game into turmoil, with managers, players and non-footballing staff placed on furlough, incomplete fixtures swept to one side as leagues are called to a halt and the kind of scattergun approach to squabbles and in-fighting usually only witnessed on reality TV.

John Hughes is an experienced manager looking to get back in the game. Picture: SNS

There is also the ongoing uncertainty with regards any possible resumption of training, let alone competitive action, with the SPFL executive mooting the end of July for behind-closed-doors games but the government’s rules on social distancing and lower league clubs’ need for doors to open to the fans before they can afford to cover the cost of opening them to players.

But in the middle of it, Brown, pictured above, believes managers – those in jobs and those who are looking for a route back in – will be shaking their heads.

“There won’t be much movement of managers just now so if you are out of work, you need to prepare yourself for that to be the case for a while. Because, usually, if there isn’t a job in the summer, everyone knows that September or October are the months when those in charge start to panic or lose patience and managers are sacked. But, because of everything that is happening, that might not be the case this year.”

While that offers the current incumbents some respite, it means those waiting for an opening will have to work harder to maintain their profile, and prove their relevance, while they wait in the wings.

Kevin Harper parted company with Albion Rovers last week. Picture: SNS

“Thankfully most of them have agents now who can take care of that kind of thing for them but there will be guys itching to get back involved,” added Brown.

But he warns that some of those who are in jobs at the moment will be finding life is far from carefree.

“Being a manager is a tough job at any time but managers will be really suffering, not just now, but when we finally get back to playing games or they return from lockdown to learn that budgets have been cut, players have gone and they have to rip up plans and start again.

“Okay, managers won’t really be fearing for their jobs at the moment but this whole thing is having an effect. Just look at Kevin Harper and Albion Rovers. He left because he was being offered decreased wages and I think there will be other places where that might happen. It is the owners who are calling the shots and money is going to be tight.”

That will impact on managers’ wages, with many currently on furlough and, although they will still be plotting their approach to the new campaign or putting feelers out for players and finalising their shopping lists, Brown fears they could all be ripped up by the time association members return to training.

Harper, who saved the Cliftonhill club from relegation two seasons on the bounce, said he had knocked back a new deal as the League Two side had failed to “match his ambitions”. “I don’t believe the board could match the ambition I had for the club; in fact it ended up that I was offered less than I was on last season,” he said.

“I feel like the job I did deserved better, and I appreciate that the club have to look after themselves during these times. But, at the end of the day, a contract was put on the table and I knocked it back. I won’t be the first manager to do that or the last.”

It was a principled move and indicates the dilemma facing managers who fear greater constraints could jeopardise their reputation if they damage results.

For others, though, there is an opportunity to prove their value, according to Brown.

“There are going to be a lot of managers who will be told to just work with what they’ve got, and they will have to show how they can organise and get the best from that group.

“Others will have to be clever when it comes to bringing anyone in to compliment those players or developing the youngsters who are promoted into the first-team squad to make up the numbers. But none of it is going to be easy. It never is as a manager, there is pressure 24/7.”

Next term that won’t be fuelled by the approach of the usual windows of vulnerability but with this season underlining the dangers of a slow start and fears that next term could suffer a similar curtailment if no vaccine is found and the virus peaks again next winter, the pressure is on getting off to a flier and ensuring their side are not the ones left trailing