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Jim says 'no'

Exclusive by Simon Smedley
12/11/2008

COUNTY manager Jim Gannon has turned down the offer of a new contract.

The Hatters boss insists he is not about to leave Edgeley Park, he remains committed to County, but he is disappointed with the board and admits this is a ‘worrying time’ for him and his coaching staff.

Gannon, who has been on a one-year rolling contract since taking over from Chris Turner in December, 2005, said: "The club finally made me an offer on October 31. I was a little disappointed it took so long to get to this stage, and I am disappointed with the offer.

"I won’t be signing that offer, therefore I’ll remain on my current one-year rolling contract from two-and-a-half years ago. It’s a worrying time really, because since the start of the season we’ve been waiting to get mine, Peter Ward’s, and all the staff’s contracts sorted out."

Gannon was initially offered his new deal last week, but when he turned that down he asked the club to improve their offer within seven days. That deadline has now passed with no further contact.

The County boss added: "I’ve been offered a similarly structured contract, but my previous one had a review on promotion clause in it.

"They’ve reviewed my contract, but they now want to take out a number of performace-related clauses from previous years. If I was to lose them it would mean the current offer is less beneficial to me.

"It certainly wouldn’t be in my interest to sign a contract which offers less of a package than I’m already on. It doesn’t make sense to me.

"It’s also disappointing that after all the discussions we’ve had, all I get is a one-page document which isn’t really in line with the conversations we’ve had.

"I wrote to the club last week and said if they wanted to continue negotiations to get back to me within seven days, but those seven days have come and gone, so I’ll just keep working under the contract I already have.

"I’ll keep going about my business as professionally as I always have."

Many would agree it’s hardly an ideal situation for Gannon to find himself in midway through a tough period of the season, but he has dismissed any talk of links with other managerial vacancies such as the ones at Watford and Huddersfield Town.

Gannon added: "I’m not aware of being linked with any other clubs.

"I don’t have an agent, but I am still committed to County. I’ve enjoyed my three years here.

"I have asked a lot of people to make a huge commitment to the club though, so I do have that sense of responsibilty to them.

"There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’ll continue to do that."

As far as the club is concerned, managing director Mark Maguire says the board and Gannon have not ceased communications, and he is confident that a further meeting between the two parties will follow shortly.

He said: "It’s a shame that such matters are made public, but regrettably that appears to be the nature of football.

"The situation from a club perspective is that following initial discussions with Jim, the board asked me to present the bones of an offer to him which I did last week.

"Our relationship is a strong one and we had a very open discussion about the areas with which Jim was unhappy, and subsequently Jim wrote me a letter outlining his thoughts on the offer and making alternative suggestions.

"I raised this in a meeting with the chairman this week, with a view to arranging a meeting as soon as possible. It is the nature of such discussions that there are negotiations where both parties seek to protect their interests, which is how it should be.

"From a personal perspective I know that we have a brilliant manager at the helm, a manager who I believe will continue to deliver continued success so long as we can provide him with the structure to do so.

"When I arrived a year or so ago there were no contracts of employment in the business and we have worked hard to address that. Jim, Peter and the club remain protected by the terms of previous contracts until such time as any new deal is agreed.

"I’m looking forward to positive discussions over the coming weeks."