Donlan backs Ritchie to bounce back from Galpharm misery.

Apr 2 2008 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

TERRY DOLAN is backing Andy Ritchie to bounce back from his Galpharm misery.

The ex-Town player and coach is a regional representative for the League Managers Association.

That means he could help Ritchie through the fall-out of yesterday’s departure, which came by mutual consent.

“I’ve had no contact with Andy as yet, so I can’t comment from an LMA viewpoint,” said Dolan, who has managed Bradford, Rochdale, Hull and York.

“But from a personal position, he’s a man I know well, and I’m sure that if he wants to go down that path, he’ll get another job in football.

“I’ve been in the situation he is now, so I know how he’ll be feeling, and I know he’ll have the strength of character to deal with it.

“He’s been through a similar scenario at Barnsley, who he took into the Championship.

“He won’t now have the chance to do that with Huddersfield, which is a shame and underlines the tenuous nature of management.

“The average span these days is 15 months, which is crazy. It’s a pity people don’t have more patience.”

Ritchie was the 36th manager to part company with a Premier or Coca-Cola League club this season and his departure after 11 months, two weeks and six days makes him Town’s fifth-shortest serving manager in their 100-year history.

John Haselden was in the hot seat for exactly five months in 1977, Malcolm Macdonald six months, three weeks and three days in 1987-88, Mick Wadsworth eight months, three weeks and five days in 2002-03 and Steve Smith eight months, four weeks and two days in 1987.