Johnson: I could have played under Dickov!

Lee Johnson (l) and Tony Philliskirk

LEE Johnson has revealed he almost worked for Paul Dickov — the man he eventually replaced as Athletic manager.

The 31 year old, who saved the club’s League One skin with a run of three wins, told a fans’ forum last night he had a meeting arranged with Dickov in early February after leaving Kilmarnock.

He said he planned to make a case with Paul Dickov to combine playing at Boundary Park with work behind the scenes.

But the meeting was arranged for the day after Dickov finally departed the club followingh a 3-1 loss at Walsall — starting the chain of events which led to the shock appointment of the Football League’s youngest boss.

“I knew Dickov had lost his coaching staff and I was still interested in still playing and hopefully getting involved on the coaching side,” said Johnson, who was joined on stage in Shaw by his head of youth Tony Philliskirk and players James Wesolowski and Jose Baxter for a fans’ question-and-answer session.

“He left on the Sunday and that was it,” said johnson. “I went to Doncaster for a couple of weeks and I was offered the under-21s Latvia coach role — which would have been a long commute.

“Eventually, somehow — I didn’t apply for the job, initially — I ended up in front of Simon Corney. The rest, as they say, is history.”