Anderson doesn’t envy Championship managers

WHITEY Anderson is so glad he’s no longer a Championship manager!

Anderson was nearly a decade in charge at Ballinamallard United before he stepped down at the end of the 2015-16 season.

During his tenure the Mallards won promotion to the Danske Bank Premiership in 2012 but after six seasons in the top flight the Fermanagh outfit were relegated to the Championship.

Last year, under Harry McConkey, the Ducks missed out on a promotion play-off spot because the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

And this season’s Championship didn’t even get off the ground, mainly because Championship clubs weren’t awarded ‘elite’ status like their Premiership counterparts, this, despite the fact they are also classified as senior clubs.

Anderson said clubs in the second tier have been treated disgracefully and insisted officials, managers and players at that level had been put in an impossible situation.

He said, “I wouldn’t envy being in the position of a Championship manager at the present time because of the way the sitiuation has been handled.

“In my opinion it all goes back to how you determine the word elite. There is an IFA document that shows senior clubs were classified as Premiership and Championship clubs, if that is the case then why are they not all determined as elite?”

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S ULSTER HERALD