Coid is backing Rico boss ability (From This Is Lancashire)

Coid is backing Rico boss ability

8:12am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in Sport By Chris Flanagan, Sports reporter

LEAM Richardson will become the second youngest boss in the Football League if he accepts the manager’s job at Accrington Stanley, but Danny Coid believes he can follow Karl Robinson by proving that age is no barrier to success.

Coid was part of the Stanley team during Richardson’s first spell as caretaker boss last season, when he stepped up from the playing squad to take the helm.

The 32-year-old former Blackburn Rovers defender is back in temporary charge for a second time following Paul Cook’s departure to Chesterfield and has now been offered the job full time.

If Richardson does take the job, which he is currently mulling over with Cook also keen to take him to Chesterfield, the only younger boss among the other League clubs would be MK Dons chief and former Blackburn coach Robinson, who is 10 months Richardson’s junior but is already being linked with moves up the managerial ladder.

“You don’t have to be in your 40s or 50s to be a good manager,” said Coid. “You’ve seen with Karl Robinson at MK Dons that young managers can do well.

“I knew him well from playing with him at Blackpool and he had the respect of the players as a team–mate, a friend and manager.”

Coid was sad to see Cook leave, having been impressed by him when he took over following the departure of long-serving duo John Coleman and Jimmy Bell.

But the 31-year-old knows the Reds will always been vulnerable to losing their main men – both on the field and in the dugout.

“It’s always going to be the case at Accrington unfortunately because of the finances,” he said.

“I’d just love someone to pump a bit of money into the club. I was the happiest man in the world when John and Jimmy left to be honest.

“I’d fallen out with Jimmy early in the season, and with John and Jimmy being the type of people they are, that was it really.

“John did say before we played Aldershot that he wanted to put it all behind us and he played me, but then he left the club that week, so I don’t know what that was all about.

“With John and Jimmy their approach to training was very relaxed, whereas with Cooky it was more serious, but that was good.

“He wanted people to be professional. He brought in new ideas and the players were impressed.”

Coid is currently without a club and is set for an operation on the knee injury that eventually ended his time at Stanley.

“Cooky did his best for me but the club couldn’t afford to pay me while I was injured and I understood,” said the 31-year-old. “He offered me coaching with the academy but financially I couldn’t do it. I would only have been breaking even.

“It’s a career-ending injury, I’m having an operation and I will be out for a year.

“After that I will have to see whether I can play again.”