Ballinamallard manager steps down after seven months

The club released a statement confirming the surprise news on Monday evening, stating that Canning “had informed the club that due to his work commitments and travel distance it is challenging to fulfil the role".

Ballinamallard chairman Tom Elliott admitted the club had been keen for Canning to remain in his position, but had to reluctantly accept his resignation.

“We did want him to stay on, but he had his mind made up and that was it,” said Elliott.

“He was making preparations for the new season, but it appears that other things have just got in the way, which is unfortunate.”

Canning has admitted that he "absolutely loved" his time at Ballinamallard United and was "proud" to have managed the club, following his resignation as Mallard’s boss this week.

Canning stepped down just before the return of the players for pre-season.

He was in charge of the Mallards for 26 games, recording 10 wins, 12 defeats and four draws on his way to ninth place in the NIFL Championship.

The club briefly flirted with a top-half finish, before tailing off towards the end of a campaign that concluded with two heavy home defeats.

Despite the abrupt end to his tenure as manager, he admits he will look back on his time at the club with great fondness.

“It was always a football club that I held in high regard, so to be approached by the club to manage it was something I am proud of,” he said, as he reflected on his seven months in charge.

“I loved it. I absolutely loved it, all bar the final two games, and I’m not going to allow them to be something that takes away from the rest of it. There was context to those two games, but outside of those I absolutely loved it. I can reflect on some really good days.

"There were some real highs in the small time I was there and I will look back on it fondly. I wish the club well and I hope they get someone in that gives them a bit of stability and some momentum going forward.”

The club now face a race against time to get a new manager appointed ahead of the upcoming season, which kicks off on August 10. The early fan favourite for the position is current assistant manager Mark Stafford, and if the club do approach Stafford with a job offer then Canning is in no doubt that the former club captain has the potential to be a success.

“Mark Stafford is going to coach or manage in the Irish League. He is an exceptionally good coach for someone that is not at it that long. He is more than capable,” said Canning.

“Whether the time is right for him, only he can decide that. Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of waiting for the right time, sometimes you have to take the risk and make the move and hope that it works out. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it can go badly wrong. They are all big risks but you can only do what you feel is right at the time.

"If Mark feels it is right for him then the players will have huge respect for him. The few games he was there in between Harry and myself went well, but it is very different when you are a permanent number one. There is a huge level of responsibility that comes with that and he will have to decide.

"He has been around football all his life and I’m sure he will want to stay around it, and if it is him then I would be hoping it goes really well for him. He was a big part of what made it good for me up there and I have a lot of respect for that man.”

As Ballinamallard begin their search for a new boss Canning has opted not to seek another position in the game and is instead planning on taking a break from football entirely.

“I am going to take time out,” he revealed. “I have been doing this for almost 25 years at different levels and in different capacities, and I need time away from it. The Championship is brutal. Absolutely brutal.

"In terms of what is going on in my life around that, it is difficult. It is tough going. People only see the 90 minutes on a Saturday and they don’t understand what goes on behind the scenes. The amount of work I have got through since April 27 when we came off the pitch against Ballyclare until now is phenomenal.

"It has been a full-time job in those six or seven weeks. It is disappointing because when we did a review of the season, both myself and Mark felt that if we got the right players in then we could do something.

"Up until a couple of weeks ago that still looked to be the case and then things changed. For me, I am going to take some time out and see what life is like without football for a while. It is a long, long time since I looked into a summer without football and I don’t know how I will adjust to it or how it will affect me. I just know at the minute I need to come away from it.”

Canning was appointed manager at the start of November to replace Harry McConkey and he successfully lifted the club away from the relegation zone, but hopes of a top-half finish did not materialise and the club finished the campaign with a poor run of results.

Despite the season ending in a disappointing fashion, the Chairman felt there had been progress during his tenure.

“He came in a third of the way through the season and took a wee while to bed in, but I thought he had made a bit of progress,” said Elliott.

“It wasn’t the best end to the season, but he had a really good spell in between. Sometimes the end of the season can run out of traction and steam a bit, and we didn’t pass too much remarks on that, but he is someone we kept talking to and we were looking forward to the new season.

"Clearly, his time at the club was very short and he didn’t give himself a chance to make his mark and I think that is what I would be disappointed in. There was no good opportunity to do that.”

With the players due to return for pre-season before the end of June, Elliott has pledged to move quickly to get a new manager in place as soon as possible.

“We will be meeting and get together very quickly and put in place a process,” he said.

“What the process entails, and whether it will be the same as the last time, we will see, but we have to do that quickly. We intend to do it very quickly.”

When Harry McConkey left the club earlier in the season Mark Stafford stepped in as a caretaker boss before Canning was appointed.

Stafford then remained on the coaching staff as Canning’s assistant, and Elliott admits he is someone who is on their list of potential replacements.

“That is an option we will explore I’m sure,” he admitted.

“We will obviously talk to Mark because he is the assistant manager at the minute. Mark is hugely respected at Ballinamallard United Football Club. He started his career there and captained his club when they went up into the Premiership in 2012 so we would be foolish not to be talking to him.

"We will be having a conversation whether we want him to go straight into management or not, and whether he wants to go straight into management or not. Those discussions will take place over the next few days.”