Managers need time to succeed

AMID the hurly burly of transfer deadline day, it may have been overlooked by many that Justin Edinburgh had become the first managerial casualty of the new season.

Admittedly, the League One table did make grim reading for anyone with Northampton Town connections – bottom of the table with no points from four games and a goal difference of minus eight.

Poor form at the end of last season could also be added to the charge sheet, while there was also the case that a much-changed squad had increased expectations at Sixfields this season.

Nonetheless, we still believe it was a decision that was made in haste and that Edinburgh was very unlucky to have lost his job before September had even started.

At the start of the season, a manager surely deserves at least ten or 12 games to show what he can do, especially if there have been major changes in personnel over the summer.

Anyone who has been involved in football for a number of years knows that fortunes can turn very quickly. One win, one bit of luck, one moment of magic and everything can change.

It’s said so often how vital confidence is and who is to say the former Spurs defender couldn’t have turned things round given more time.

Of course, Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas and his colleagues are entitled to axe a manager when they wish and they will have had their reasons, but let’s hope other clubs show a bit more patience and give managers more time.

Given the players at their disposal, it’s more than likely the next Northampton manager will have a honeymoon period – and Edinburgh will be forgotten. But the sad thing now is we’ll never know if he could have got them back on track.