Wigan Athletic manager campaigning for administration rethink

Derby County recently became the latest club to be plunged into crisis, with a 12-point deduction the least of their worries alongside eye-watering debts.

Richardson was rightly hailed for his starring role in steering Latics through their own situation over the last 15 months.

And he now wants to do as much as he can to help Wayne Rooney and others who find themselves thrust into uncharted waters.

“Obviously everyone here will have huge empathy for the situation at Derby – the players, management, staff, families, supporters, and what they’re going through,” Richardson told Wigan Today.

“If they have to experience even a fraction of what we did, it still sends a tingle down the spine.

“Hopefully they’ve got good people in and there’ll be some really good advice, and I’ve become a little bit of a campaigner now in that respect.

“I still don’t think there’s anywhere near enough information out there – from the FA, the EFL, the PFA, the LMA – to guide the likes of myself and other managers through.

“I recently put a little presentation through to the FA, and I spoke at length to Rick Parry, which I will pick up at a later date, when I get a minute!

“But the situation is as close to reckless as possible, in terms of talking about the very future of a football club.”

Richardson has established himself as one of the most studious, forward-thinking bosses on the circuit, but he worries there’s literally nothing available to prepare a manager for administration.

“You’ve got all the licences and the diplomas going, and they teach you all about the footballing world, leadership, environments in which to perform in,” he said.

“But nobody really scratches the surface in terms of managing a situation like administration.

“Other than personal experience, there’s nothing I was taught that gave me any idea of how to deal with a situation like ours.

"As a result you’re totally in the deep end, trying to put out fires, trying to stop other fires being started, and trying to take care of everybody else’s personal and professional lives.

"Especially at the moment going through a pandemic, in the midst of a financial crisis, in an ever-changing football world, it’s important we can educate managers as much as we can.

“It’s never going to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but we can look to build a road map to try to help future managers.

“And it’s certainly something I will be looking to drive forward, because the more education and information out there, the better.”

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