Moore backing Murray to be a managerial success, but no decision yet from caretaker

Mansfield Town first team coach Micky Moore is backing caretaker boss Adam Murray to be a successful manager when he takes the plunge full-time.
Micky Moore and Adam Murray on the Stags bench.Micky Moore and Adam Murray on the Stags bench.
Micky Moore and Adam Murray on the Stags bench.

But there has still been no word from Murray as to whether he will throw his hat into the ring for tomorrow’s interviews when chairman John Radford already has six candidates lined up to speak to.

Murray has done well in his first week in charge, winning two of the three games and coaching the players into a new, more attractive, style of football then under Paul Cox.

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But, despite his ambitions to go into management, Murray is torn over the decision as he is worried he may be retiring from playing too early at 33.

“Adam definitely has great potential to be a manager,” said Moore. “The players all want to play for him.

“He talks to players and he knows how to hit the right buttons with players. Sometimes they need an arm around them and some just need a poke in the right direction.

“He is very methodical in what he wants to do. Adam is a real student of the game and he wants to listen and learn.

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“If the time is right now or in the future, I think Adam can potentially go on and be a very good manager.”

However, Moore said Murray had still not made a decision about tomorrow yet to their knowledge.

“The only conversation we’ve had at this stage was right at the beginning when Adam said he wanted to concentrate on the next seven days,” added Moore.

“He wanted to get over the Luton game and them discuss it with his family and people close to him.

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“He will have done that over the weekend and we have a meeting later today. So I don’t know if we will learn anything then. He has just gone out to look at our training ground.

“I have not been in a position to ask him the question. I imagine it is a big decision for him. It has been a frantic week for Adam and a difficult time.

“He has needed some time to reflect. I am sure whatever decision he makes it will be the best one for not only himself but also the football club. Everyone knows how he feels about this club and what he has done over a number of years.

“First and foremost, he was thrown in at the deep end. Sometimes you get an inkling of what’s going to happen. But it all happened within a few hours.

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“Adam had his coaching badges and it’s something he wants to go into.

“I know he got great reward from seeing some of the things he wants to do carried out by the players this week and we won two games before losing on Saturday, though the performance wasn’t that bad.”

The club are remaining tight-lipped on the candidates, but the bookies have Murray down as favourite to land the job, should he apply, and other top candidates include Colin Calderwood, James Beattie, Nigel Worthington, Shaun O’Driscoll and Ronnie Moore.

Darren Edmondson is also up there but has this week publicly said he doesn’t want to leave Barrow while Chad understands that former Doncaster boss Dave Penney, a friend of chairman Radford, is not among the interviewees.

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Along with Calderwood, other ex-Stags said to be in the running are Aidy Boothroyd, Ian Baraclough and Ritchie Barker though it’s not clear if the latter trio have made the final six.

One man definitely not in the race is Micky Moore, the Stags coach adding: “I have been a manager or assistant manager for the last 10 years and, right here right now, it’s not something that interests me.

“I am very happy in the role I do and I am very happy to help Adam in his role as caretaker. I am very content doing what I am doing.”