Big Joe turns down job at Boundary Park

Joe Royle has ruled himself out of the running for the permanent manager's job at Boundary Park. Speaking earlier this week he confessed, "It will be a tough decision for both of us. The chairman has a manager who has drawn four and lost four, and if I were him, I would not be happy with me. I knew it would be tough when I took over because the goals had dried up in the second half of the season. We had just let in six goals at MK Dons and it was always going to be hard to reverse the slide. We have let players go and we are no worse a team for losing Hughes, Kabba, Liddle and one or two other loan players. I have pruned things down ready for next season when we hope to have an improvement. And I think you can now see the wood from the trees."

Athletic's owners will not be delaying their search for a new manager and it will begin in earnest when Joe completed his stint after the final match of the season at Walsall on Saturday. Royle said, "I have not quit and I've not been sacked. It was only ever going to be a short stint to the end of the season. I am here if they want me, but there is a fine line between sitting in the top of the stand and being an albatross for a new manager. I sat down with Simon Blitz, Simon Corney (pictured) and Alan Hardy and we talked about what was needed to take the club forward. It is still the club I knew 15 years ago, and I retain a lot of affection for the people here, the club and the fans. This is a committed board of directors which is keen to move the club forward as quickly as possible, and I am sure the right appointment can be made."

Alan Hardy added, "When Joe kindly agreed to help us out six weeks ago, it was always with just the last nine games of the season in mind. After openly discussing the situation with the owners and myself, Joe felt the best option for the club to take was to look for a younger man to take the helm. However, Joe has agreed to continue to help, but without the day-to-day involvement. The arrangement suits both parties."

Simon Blitz and Simon Corney expect to appoint a new manager within seven to ten days. Mr. Corney told Latics World, "In terms of the process of appointing a new boss, we are pretty far along at the moment. We have a list of people we want to talk to. As a club we can't afford to sit still; we have to make sure things are in place for next season. We're quite close to sorting things out - we have been extremely happy with the calibre of the managers we've met so far."