BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
JACKIE McNAMARA has defended the bizarre arrangement for him to continue managing crisis club York City – despite resigning on Monday.
McNamara, 42, was on the brink last week following a humiliating 6-1 defeat against a Guiseley side that were previously bottom of the Conference and without a win in five months.
In a unusual move, the Minstermen released a statement ordering the Scotsman to attain a “positive result” in the following fixture against Braintree Town in order to save his job.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw, with Braintree equalising two minutes from time, was not deemed good enough and McNamara officially stepped down.
However, in another odd twist, he has effectively agreed to be the club’s caretaker boss while chairman Jason McGill attempts to find his successor. While the move has mystified onlookers, McNamara insists there is nothing “sinister” about the strategy.
“The chairman [McGill] might pick somebody before the weekend and the ideal scenario would be the sooner, the better, but I said I’d stay here and help them,” explained the former Dundee United boss.
“People look at that and go well ‘he’s only doing that because he’s getting paid or there is something else sinister’ but that’s not the case.
“I’ve been here a long time and I stayed here because the chairman has been a unique person in football for me. It’s the reason why I came down here to start in League Two, the reason I stayed in the summer and it’s the reason why I’m staying here now to help him get someone in.
“Football is a unique industry and it can be a not very nice one at times, you see people get sacked left, right and centre.
“People don’t understand this side of it and the chairman has been very supportive of me. It’s something I wish I had earlier on in my managerial career.”
McNamara’s ten-month reign has seen York relegated from League Two and their bid to immediately bounce back falter, with the Minstermen now seven games without a victory and just two places above the relegation zone.
The former Celtic skipper has also been plagued by off-the-field woes, most notably being ordered to pay a hefty fine for failing to purchase an £86 train ticket as he travelled between Edinburgh and York.
“I think it’s best for somebody else to come in, another voice maybe,” McNamara told talkSPORT.
“I had a good chat with the players and explained the reasons why I thought it was best for someone else to come in. There are a lot of reasons which have nothing to do with football.”
