Kelly committed to the Latics cause

New manager Darren Kelly: commitment got him the gig.

CLUB director Anthony Gee has hinted that assurances of a strong commitment to the Athletic cause helped Darren Kelly net the Oldham manager’s job.

Gee has been asked whether, if he were to prove as successful as all the fans hope, Kelly would be allowed to leave in similar circumstances to those that saw Lee Johnson move from Athletic to rivals Barnsley earlier this year.

“If Darren’s good, we’ll do everything in our power to keep him,” said Gee.

It’s far too soon to judge the success of Kelly, but Gee, who also gave a possible insight into why more higher-profile names were overlooked, said: “With the way football is, even a top Premier League club can’t hold on to its superstars. We will do everything we can to tie Darren down to a long-term contract, but we also have to be realistic. We can’t handcuff him..

“We didn’t want, and Oldham don’t necessarily need, a tried and tested manager who’s out of work and looking to get back in the game, using our club as maybe a six to 10 game stepping stone. We’re going to get a level of commitment from Darren we wouldn’t get from that type of manager.

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