Benny's Wigan boss fell victim to law of averages
GARY CALDWELL WAS SACKED as manager of Wigan last week after just 18 months in charge of the club.
The former Scotland defender led them to the League One title last season but that didn’t buy him any extra time this term.
Wigan have a long-standing Scottish connection.
Their first tentative steps towards becoming a major club came under former Aberdeen, Leicester and Brighton player, Ian McNeill.
He had been manager of Ross County and recruited a group of his fellow countryman when he led Wigan into the newly-formed Northern Premier League in 1968.
Jim Fleming came from Hearts, Billy Sutherland had been on the books at Rangers and Doug Coutts was a former Aberdeen defender.
Perhaps the most surprising signing was 22-year-old striker, Benny Cairney.
He had spent the previous two seasons with Motherwell.
Going from Scotland’s top division to non-league in England proved to be a lucrative move for Benny.
The manager, however, fell victim to the short-term thinking that still exists today.
Benny recalled: “Wigan decided to go full-time and they were prepared to pay me more than I had been on at Motherwell.
“There was also a good signing-on fee.
“I can’t say I was too enamoured with the rather rickety Springfield Park but I was just married and looking for a bit of stability.
“There had been interest from Watford. Their scout later contacted me and said I should have telephoned him before I decided to join Wigan.
“That was impossible because I didn’t have a contact number.
“Things were a lot more difficult for players in those days. We were a commodity to be bought and sold.
“We had a good team at Wigan, with the Scots lads playing a major part.
“Kilmarnock and Airdrie came down for friendlies and we beat them both.
“We went part-time after my first season and I had to get a job in the Heinz food factory.
“Ian McNeill did a really good job of putting the club on the map, but the chairman, Arthur Horrocks, decided to sack him when we didn’t win the title.
“We couldn’t have come much closer to being champions, losing out on goal average.”
Macclesfield won the NPL with a goal average of 1.765 compared to Wigan’s 1.750.
Benny went on: “They brought in former Liverpool player, Gordon Milne, and he wanted to move me on.
“I went to Northwich Victoria in a swap deal and scored 50 goals in two seasons for them.
“Unfortunately, I suffered a broken leg and that really curtailed my career.
“I came back to Scotland and, after a short time at Ross County, I went back to the Junior game.”
Benny started out in the senior game with Leicester City as a teenager.
He came back north and was given a threemonth contract by Celtic.
He said: “I played eight games for the reserves and scored in the first half of my debut.
“But Jock Stein was just taking over as manager and wanted to bring in his own players.
“I went straight to Motherwell, where I was playing with Scotland internationals like Willie Hunter and John Martis.”
Now 71, Benny later developed a career as chiropodist and physiotherapist.