New Oldham boss Darren Kelly’s political allegiances have been brought into question after he was announced as the new manager on Monday. Some fans immediately requested a refund for their previously bought season tickets as they were disappointed with the appointment due to his lack of experience and for his support for former IRA leader Martin McGuinness. His social media account had stated that he had referred to the Sinn Fein member as 'a legend' but he has since deleted that account.
Kelly has responded to the accusation with, “It’s been blown out of proportion. There is nothing in it whatsoever. I have deleted Twitter, though not on the back of that. My account went into meltdown. In terms of the tweet, there is nothing political in it at all. I am a family man and the manager of this great football club. That is what my life is about and I have no political views in that. I understand if people are concerned, but there is nothing in that.”
Simon Corney subsequently offered a full refund to any fans who were unhappy with the appointment and also offered to meet with them at Boundary Park to discuss the appointment and he said, “I’ve heard about it, we’re all aware of it and Darren’s views are Darren’s views. He explained them to us and we were satisfied with what he said. Darren is a thorough gentleman, he’s a good guy, but as we’ve seen before, when you’re at a football club you go under the microscope. I can see why people may have one or two concerns, but he’ll give the fans the rationale behind everything. He won’t shy away from anything, and that’s a good quality to have.”