BERWICK Rangers caretaker manager Ian Little has done his bid to land the post on a full-time basis no harm by being named as the Irn-Bru manager of the month for November, but he might be waiting a bit longer than expected for the board’s final decision.
Little was appointed on a temporary basis following the resignation of predecessor Jimmy Crease and hit the ground running with a string of good results to ensure the Borderers were in contention for a play-off place. The board recognised the impact he had and gave Little until the New Year to prove his case to them before they would make a final decision as to who Crease’s eventual successor would be.
That deadline is now only a week away and today’s trip to second-placed Annan Athletic will – on the timescale outlined – be Little’s last chance to impress.
Only, as Little himself states, events off the pitch might see the eventual decision being postponed.
He said: “The chairman (Brian Porteous) did say he would give me to the New Year before making a decision but he’s going into hospital soon so we’ll have to wait until he comes out before that.
“But winning the award for November will not have done my own case any harm.
“However, it’s the players who work hard and do the business on the pitch. Unfortunately, it’s me who gets the award.”
Little will be hoping his troops can bounce back from the frustrating trip to Peterhead in midweek which saw them up against it before the team had even got on the team bus.
He added: “When you are a part-time club, going all the way up to Peterhead to play a fixture in midweek has its own pitfalls and so it proved. Darren Lavery had to pull out with work commitments. He wanted to play but he’s got a wage to earn so you couldn’t say no to that. Then Stuart Noble couldn’t get to us in time and missed the team bus. So he had to use his own car to drive up to Peterhead.
“Then there was the game itself, which of course we lost 1-0 thanks to a penalty. It was a call we were not happy with as the ref must have been the only person there who thought that it was a penalty. But Peterhead got a break and that’s how it goes.”
MATT LESLIE
