CLOCKS stopped all across Scottish football yesterday when it was announced that Billy Reid had parted company with Hamilton Academical.
Prior to yesterday, the 49-year-old Glaswegian was the longest-serving manager in the country with just shy of eight years with the Lanarkshire club on his record, a period during which the New Douglas Park club have recorded some of the finest moments in their history.
A statement from the club insisted that the parting had been "amicable", but, however he left, he is now merely the latest statistic in a season of tumultuous and unforeseen managerial turbulence in the Scottish game. Such turmoil has done for the occupants of the manager's offices at both Edinburgh clubs, both those in Dundee and Aberdeen this term, in addition to first division hopefuls Falkirk, Hamilton, Livingston and Partick Thistle.
Fittingly, Reid went out in victory, beating Dumbarton 2-1 on Tuesday, but his time will mainly be remembered for the high watermark of a seventh-place finish in the top flight, three Scottish Cup quarter-finals – the most recent of which was this season – and most notably of all, perhaps, for cottoning on early to a youth development culture which harvested a million-pound bounty from the likes of James McCarthy, James McArthur and Brian Easton.
At one point his star was in the ascendancy to the extent he could rebuff an approach from Swansea City, but ironically his departure comes at a time when the need to work with young players appears greatest. In the short term, his first-team duties will be passed to Alex Neil, the club captain and under-20s coach, and Frankie McAvoy, the academy director.
The tributes flooded in for Reid last night. Neil, his captain for much of the past few years, spoke of a sense of shock amongst the playing staff and said he hadn't had time to give any thought to taking the job on a more permanent basis. "Billy certainly leaves with his head held high as far as I'm concerned," said Neil. "I enjoyed working with him and now it's sad he has gone. I don't think anyone can call into question what he achieved while he was at Hamilton.
"It came as a bit of a shock, all the players were surprised. I'm disappointed he's gone, but I can understand that he wants to try pastures new and the club are wanting to go down that direction as well. My sole focus is to make sure the team is prepared and ready for the game against Dunfermline on Saturday. I'm not thinking long-term at all."
Mark McLaughlin, who moved to Morton last summer after eight happy years at Hamilton, told Herald Sport that he shared those sentiments but was surprised by the timing. "I was obviously sad to leave after a lot of good times at the club but I haven't got a bad word to say about him," said McLaughlin. "I look at what he has done for the club and the only thing I find strange is the timing. Nothing lasts forever in management but he was the longest serving manager in Scotland so that says a lot for the job he has done.
"The youth side of things is fantastic and Billy is a big part of it but it has not been the season the fans and the people at the club would have expected. I think at the start of the season they struggled for experience. It just surprises me that they said bringing kids through was what it is all about and then suddenly the manager who has been so successful at bringing kids through leaves.
"I actually got sent off in my last game for Hamilton and Billy was the first one into the dug-out afterwards, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and getting me out to say goodbye to the fans. He didn't have to do that."
McArthur also had his say. "Heard my old manager Billy Reid has left Hamilton," tweeted Wigan Athletic's Scotland midfielder. "Sure he will move onto another club and do really well with them as he did at Hamilton."
Neil is a plausible long-term candidate, with a more outlandish one being Barry Ferguson. "Billy felt he needed a fresh challenge and the club was like-minded," said chairman Les Gray. "It was simple and naturally felt the right thing to do at the right time. Billy has indicated that he will be at Dunfermline to support the team on Saturday and the game against Airdrie Utd next Tuesday as well."
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