Dignity in difficult times

ALL SMILES: Darren Kelly jons theline-up for the team photoshoot

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

A SHOTGUN wedding that ended in a sad, sober divorce: Darren Kelly has left the building as Athletic’s manager following an appointment whose shock value continues to resonate.

A hundred and thirty three days, nine games, one victory and a public player fall-out after his unveiling, the 36 year old — one of the most personable men in the game — was served his papers.

Athletic’s board privately felt from early on that Kelly wasn’t quite up to the major task in front of him. Even now, the decision to appoint him astonishes. Nobody in the game could entirely believe it, least of all fans hoping for the always-unlikely return of Iain Dowie.

Athletic’s board thought slightly outsde the box in their choice: Rookies before Kelly — John Sheridan, Paul Dickov and Lee Johnson — were relatively successful, cutting their managerial teeth at Athletic.

Why couldn’t he follow suit? Kelly sold himself brilliantly in an interview with the board. His was a passionate and superb display.

He impressed those directors — hardly a green bunch — to the extent that after he left the room, they emerged to offer him the job.

It was a huge risk promoting such an unheralded character from the Sunderland academy system to the hothouse of League One. But chairman Simon Corney isn’t averse to a gamble.

Once pre-season came, there were few qualms with his ability to fire in with bursts of coaching on the training field. Recruitment became an issue though. Players were brought in for Kelly rather than by him. He nailed his colours to the mast over Gavin Gunning, a centre-back he saw as a leader of men but who never reached full fitness. The ex-Birmingham and Dundee United man was quickly gone again.

In the summer he also had the headache of integrating some substandard trialists in the squad, which hardly helped the young players to get game time.

It was clear Kelly would have to start the season very strongly to win over doubters. The draw on the opening day at Walsall was promising; the Middlesbrough game that followed saw Athletic carved open time and again.

In came defensive tightening, followed by a scratchy win and a trio of draws before poor defeats against Shrewsbury and Bradford.

The Dominic Poleon issue then came up over “professional standards” - an embarrassing interlude later settled.

Goals were a problem and injuries hammered another nail in the managerial coffin. The lack of clarity has been far from all Kelly’s own doing, but Athletic need a clear, focused and decisive direction.

No doubt he will have learned plenty of lessons on the harsh, often vicious nature of life as a manager even in this briefest of spells. Hopefully, one of the game’s good guys will be back elsewhere soon.