FROM POORER ...TO RICH-ER!
WHEN Paul Cook was made Ipswich Town boss, his faithful sidekick Leam Richardson was expected to quickly follow him to Portman Road.
The pair had forged a formidable partnership at Accrington Stanley, Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan until administration at the 11th hour saw the Latics relegated from the Championship last year.
Cook (below) resigned, but Richardson hung on. John Sheridan came and went and from November Richardson had the stage to himself as caretaker – one which was littered with trapdoors as the club’s administrators failed to secure a buyer.
There were several false dawns until salvation arrived in the shape of Bahrain businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi in March.
By then, thanks to other clubs enjoying a sweep of Wigan’s talent at knockdown prices, the club was surely destined for League Two.
Four straight wins in April has confounded the doom merchants with Richardson also rejecting the chance to move to Ipswich and being rewarded with a threeyear contract as permanent boss.
“I have tried to be as honest as I could even though certain situations were almost unmanageable at times,” he admitted.
“We have come through the worst and the ambition of the new owner seems to match my own.
“Hopefully in three or four years’ time we can get back to the heights Wigan have reached in the past.” For the last 12 months it’s been all about the lows and a scrap for survival.
Richardson explained: “We thought we had maintained our Championship status last season and with a really good crop of youthful talent, which was only going to get better and grow.
“My only real experience before of administration was seeing that banner on Sky Sports going across the bottom of the screen announcing that a club had fallen on hard times.
“From the outside it can never look as taxing and challenging as it actually is once you are thrown into it.”
In pre-season they were only given a day’s notice to exit the training ground after it was sold by the administrators to Preston North End. “We had people walking around the training ground with a sheet of what we could take and what we couldn’t because we were being told we had to get off the premises within 24 hours,” Richardson recalled.
“We had to rely on a friend with a grabber and a lorry to put all sorts in different storage places otherwise that would have been gone.
“We lost 20-odd players for a fraction of the fees we should have received, which only compounds the hurt and injustice we felt.
“We even had some disappearing at half-time during friendlies because they had to rush to take medicals. Everyone who remained has certainly done their best.”
His old pal Cook will have to find a new assistant – this job’s not finished yet.