THE list of 40 managers wanting the Salisbury City job tells of the fear ripping through the gaffers' fraternity that losing a post can lead to an average of 18 months out of work. That is if they ever return.
Promotion winner Terry Brown is one of the stellar names who told this paper recently how he would jump at the chance to manage a club which, with no disrespect to anyone at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium, is not one of Non-League's blue chip outfits.
Financial problems resulted in their two-division demotion three years ago, and although Darrell Clarke has led them brilliantly back up to the Conference Premier, theirs will be one of the bottom six budgets in the top-flight next term.
Still Brown expressed his interest and spoke of the League Managers' Association stats, saying: “I've done eight of that 18-month average and that's enough for me.”
Gary Mills, a Conference play-off winner as recently as last year, would also be interested. Same goes Liam Daish and names such as Brian Little, Tim Flowers and Graham Rix (remember him?) have been linked.
Sources close to the Wiltshire club have suggested this week that Whites chairman William Harrison-Allan is likely to go for one of David Holdsworth, ex-Livingston manager Dave Bowman, Sutton United coach Paul Telfer and Mikey Harris, the assistant-manager placed in temporary charge.
Campaign
The latter is interesting because at 28 years old, he would undoubtedly be one of the youngest – if not THE youngest – ever to be appointed by a Conference Premier club.
Chris Brass was 27 when York City gave him the job in 2003, but they were in League Two at the time. The player-boss was 28 by the start of their Conference campaign, but the difference between the two is vast. While Brass had spent his entire career playing in the League, Harris was released by Bournemouth at 19 and never played higher than a handful of games for Salisbury when they were at Step 3.
He was in and around the squad that won the 2005-06 Southern League title during City's first ascent of the pyramid, but – in his own words – “knew from an early age that coaching was what [he] wanted to do”.
He had already set up his own coaching business, but went to university to study sport science and started to help manager Nick Holmes and player-coach Tommy Widdrington with the players' fitness, nutrition and hydration programmes as Salisbury rose to the top-flight.
Widdrington took the reins after a 4-0 home defeat by Histon in February 2009 and asked Harris to be his first-team coach as they successfully staved off relegation.
At the end of that season, he stepped up to assistant-manager – aged 24 – and helped the side reach the FA Trophy semi-finals and 12th place in the Blue Square Bet Premier, although they would have been sixth without the ten-point deduction for entering administration.
History
That, of course, led to them being the final side to be thrown down two divisions to the Southern Premier under the Conference's Appendix E ruling, and Widdrington left for Southend.
Harris and captain Clarke, then only 32 himself, were put in joint caretaker-charge for the pre-season programme and it was only on the eve of the campaign that the latter was confirmed as player-manager.
With Clarke playing the entire first campaign, Harris was the man in the dugout as the play-offs were won. As Clarke made 24 appearances in their opening BSB South season, the pair achieved club history with a run to the third round of the FA Cup while finishing tenth.
Last season, with Clarke concentrating solely on management, they won the play-offs. There is no doubt that Harris has been a crucial part of the Salisbury success story, not just in the last three years but he also has the experience of Non-League's top division under Widdrington.
He's one of football's new breed of learners; the graduate who is already on part two of his UEFA A Licence coaching qualification and with eyes set on the Pro Licence next.
So would it be such a massive risk to put him in charge for their return, when he's already had the experience of over 250 games on the staff?
All will become apparent as Harrison-Allan concludes his interview process this week and makes a big, big call for Salisbury City.
And Mikey Harris was announced as the Manager this morning!