Irish League veteran won't be 'firing in application' for vacant Carrick Rangers job - but insists it's an exciting position
As Curtis Allen and Mark Surgenor walked into the manager’s office at Taylor’s Avenue on Saturday afternoon, they glanced a look at each other, almost to say ‘how have we ended up here?’, but fast forward a couple of hours later, the duo had returned with three points and their perfect dugout record intact.
However, Surgenor insists neither of the Irish League veterans will be “getting carried away” and applying for the full-time position with both still keen to make an impact on the pitch this season.
Carrick chairman Peter Clarke has confirmed an announcement on Stuart King’s permanent successor will be made by Wednesday with Paddy McLaughlin an interested spectator at Saturday’s 2-0 win over Cliftonville, which ended the club’s eight-game league losing run and helped them climb off the bottom.
The fact there has been interest in the vacancy from both inside and outside of Northern Ireland comes as no surprise to Surgenor, who believes taking over at Carrick should be an exciting prospect given the squad’s quality.
"There's no way we'll be firing in an application for the job - we still view ourselves as players so we won't be applying or getting carried away with ourselves!" said Surgenor. “This is about the boys on the pitch doing what they're capable of.
"If he (Paddy McLaughlin) was here and was thinking about it, I'm sure he'll be thinking even harder about it now considering what he'd have at his disposal. There has been a lot of interest and that's why.
"Hopefully if they were watching and looked across they still see Curtis and I as players! Whoever comes in has a wonderful board who will support them, loyal fans and a playing group who are honest and willing to work."
With King departing on Tuesday evening following Carrick’s BetMcLean Cup exit to Queen’s University, Allen and Surgenor were handed the temporary reins on Wednesday with their brief to steer the club through a weekend clash with the Reds and Tuesday’s Co Antrim Shield quarter-final trip to Glentoran.
The past few days have given 38-year-old Surgenor a taste of what could be to come when he eventually hangs up his boots and while he got to experience the high of Saturday’s success, he’s also well aware of the darker side to management too.
"We took a walk up to the office and sat down and laughed a wee bit saying 'is this something you thought you'd be doing right now?',” he added. “Neither of us thought it would be as quick.
"Curtis and I both spoke about how football management consumes you. I haven't thought about anything else since Wednesday...you've family at home and jobs to go to and all you're thinking about is formations and set-pieces.
"Everybody assumes when you're a player that you'll stay in football but honestly it's not something in my short-term plans.
"Since Wednesday it's all I've thought about and I just don't know where you find the extra hours in the day to do it, but this has given me a taste for something I may want to do it when I get on a bit.
"If they're all days like Saturday of course you'd jump into it, but I know there's the other side of it too."