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It is no secret that Oldham Athletic were interested in appointing me as Lee Johnson’s successor at the club, and it was an offer that really tempted me. Even as I watched them in the Port Vale game on Tuesday, having made my decision not to take the job, there was part of me that wished I was in the dug-out.
I will be a manager one day. I have come to see that over the last eight months, although I know that I first said that I did not see my future in coaching. And one day I believe that I will manage Oldham, the club that my dad supports and who are very close to my heart. They are a really good family club who mean a great deal to a lot of people – myself included. I just did not feel this was the right time.
When I go into management, I want to do so with 100 per cent commitment. At the moment I have a lot of responsibilities and things going on in my life that I cannot simply drop immediately. Most importantly I have a young family who need their dad around, having been away a lot during my playing career. There was no way, for example, I would ever have tried to combine a coaching job with my work on television.
Managing a club like Oldham has to be an all-absorbing, seven days a week commitment. That is how Lee made such a success of it. One day I will be ready to do that. This was the right job, just at the wrong time.