Macclesfield Director of Football Robbie Savage has appointed himself as the club’s new head coach – his first role in management.
A club statement has revealed supporting him will be Peter Band as assistant manager and helping them out in position-specific role will be none other than former England hero Emile Heskey.
Response to the news on social media has hardly been overwhelmingly positive with fans wondering how long the former Wales international will keep himself in the job as he plays “fantasy football”.
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One X user commented: “Will he sack himself if the results are not good enough.”
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“This is a really terrible decision and reflects awfully on the club and board. Clegg was a fantastic appointment and shouldn’t be the sacrificial lamb to allow Savage to play out his little fantasy,” another fumed.
A third wrote: “Very strange statement – smacks of fantasy football and a manufactured leg up for someone who loves their name in lights Football clubs, and their fan bases, are not toys Let’s see if he’s humble enough to do the 50 hours’ plus required to pay the role the respect it deserves.”
Someone else laughed: “@chris_sutton73 has been calling for Robbie to appoint himself for months, this will be entertaining”
The decision from Macclesfield comes after rivals clubs reportedly showed interest in Savage, causing them to propel him to the head coach position to keep him aboard.
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This move led to Michael Clegg, who had taken the revived Silkmen into the Northern Premier League play-off finals, leaving the club by mutual agreement. As a result, Savage steps into his new gig – 13 years post hanging up his boots.
The Silkmen released a statement regarding the reshuffle: “Macclesfield FC can confirm that Michael Clegg has left his role as First Team Manager by mutual consent this afternoon.”
“We would like to thank Michael for all his efforts whilst at the club and wish him well in the future.”
They added: “Everyone at the Club would like to wish Robbie, Peter and Emile every success in their new roles with us. We would also like to reiterate our thanks to Michael Clegg in assembling what he himself has termed “a fantastic group” within which he played a such a vital part.
Clegg’s tenure saw him win 11 out of 16 games, suffering defeat at the hands of Marine in the 2-1 play-off final – denying the club a third consecutive promotion since Savage and Rob Smethurst pulled it back from the brink just four years ago.