Credit Graham Burrell
Former Imps assistant Neil McDonald has stepped into caretaker charge at Barrow after the League Two club dismissed head coach Andy Whing and his assistant Craig Pead.
McDonald, well known to City supporters from his spell as Peter Jackson’s assistant during our 2007/08 period in League Two, had only recently returned to Holker Street for a third coaching spell. He now takes temporary control with Barrow sitting eighteenth in the table, four points above the relegation places.
Barrow acted after a heavy 3-0 home defeat against Tranmere, a night that included a goal from former Carlisle and Grimsby striker Kristian Dennis. Whing had been in post for just under a year after arriving from Solihull Moors in January, yet results across the autumn left the board concerned about their trajectory in the bottom half.
Chairman Paul Hornby released a statement outlining the club’s thinking.
“We feel that our current league position does not reflect the quality and the investment that has been put into the squad.
“We believe that making a change at this stage of the season gives us the best possible chance to begin climbing the league table.
“We would like to thank Andy and Craig for their hard work and commitment, and we wish them nothing but success in their future endeavours.”
They’re right about the squad. Tom Barkhuizen, Tyler Walker, Rhys Healy, Charlie McCann and Ben Whitfield are among their number, and that reads like a team that should be eighth, not 18th.
McDonald, now 60, arrived back at Barrow after leaving Hartlepool in October. He has previous managerial experience at Carlisle, where he took charge during the 2006-07 season, and has held numerous coaching roles across the EFL and Premier League. His immediate task is to prepare the squad for a tough trip to Gillingham this weekend.
Credit Lincoln City
Neil McDonald at Lincoln City
His spell at Lincoln City came in 2007 during Peter Jackson’s tenure. He arrived as assistant manager shortly after leaving Carlisle United and stayed only a matter of months before Leeds United took him to Elland Road, with City receiving compensation for the switch. From there, he built a varied CV that has included assistant posts at Blackpool, Scunthorpe United, Walsall, Swindon Town and Barrow, as well as a stint as Blackpool manager in the 2015-16 season.
It is often said that City looked stronger with Jackson and McDonald in the dugout than we did once Iffy took over. Under Jackson and McDonald, we won eight of 18 matches, a run that included three 2-1 victories on the bounce at Shrewsbury and Macclesfield and against Rotherham at Sincil Bank. We then won eight of the next 18 under Iffy, with five of those coming during the period he was sole manager while Jacko recovered from cancer.
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