Part 2 of 3 with Southend Utd assistant manager Darren Currie, who talks about his return to the game with Sheffield Utd and what happened after.
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TK: How did the Sheffield Utd vacancy for the Under 23’s come into conversation?
DC: I had been talking to Jack Lester who is the Academy manager there, we’ve been in touch as friends for a long while and we were having a chat around the time Chris Wilder had been sacked and Paul Heckingbottom had stepped up from the Under 23’s so I said if you need some help for the next four months I’d happily do it.
At the same time Graham Coughlan had had the same conversation with Paul and the consensus was between the two of them was that the two of us would joint manage the team. I was on the motorway within half hour of the conversation and spent the night in the hotel with Graham planning the next day.
That’s what football can do to you, one minute you’re sitting around waiting for things to happen and then the next you’re about people again planning a session like you’ve never been out of the game.
TK: And you had a little bit of success while you were there didn’t you.
DC: Yes, they were already in a good place at the top end of the league and we just went in and saw it over the line. We played 11 games, won nine of them and with the league title. I’m sure you’ll go on to talk about Southend where I had three of them with me soon after I arrived there.
TK: Did it allay the fears for you and those around you that you could get back into the game despite it only being a temporary move?
DC: Haha, there were a few ‘I told you so’s’, a little bit in jest but I was happy to tell them that because I backed myself.
It was only ever going to be a four month period there, I didn’t get my hopes up, they didn’t get my hopes up, just do the best job you can in that time and it got me back out on the grass.
TK: Once that time was over, it was just a case of sitting around being patient and waiting for another vacancy to present itself?
DC: Yeah, there was a bit more normality creeping back into the game, crowds coming back in and then directors can hear the frustration compared to no noise rattling around last year.
It was always going to be different this year, the pressure returning that only fans can bring to the game when it’s not going right.
TK: Did you look at the National League South and think I might have to drop a level to get back into the game permanently?
DC: Absolutely! I had a few conversations with people and it’s still got to be the right fit whether it’s the South Division or League One. At the beginning it was the opportunity offered but the more it went on the wait, it was about just getting back in.
It’s not about levels I think that can be a bit disrespectful saying that, there are some big clubs in that division, your Maidstone’s and your Dorking’s, it was always about the opportunity and thankfully it came again at Southend.
Part 3 will follow very soon.
