WORKINGTON Reds were rocked today when manager Tommy Cassidy quit the club after six hugely successful years.
Cassidy - the longest-serving manager in the club’s history - is joining the big-spending and highly-ambitious Newcastle Blue Star.
The north east outfit, funded by a millionaire backer Dave Thompson and based at Newcastle Falcons’ 10,000-seat Kingston Park rugby ground, had approached Reds about taking the former Newcastle and Northern Ireland star to lead them in their UniBond League First Division North campaign.
And Cassidy is expected to be named the new Blue Star manager later today, while Workington will offer the Borough Park job to assistant boss Tony Elliott, inset.
The bombshell for the Reds comes two days before one of their biggest league games of the season – the Blue Square North derby clash with Barrow at Holker Street.
Workington chairman Humphrey Dobie said: “I took a call from the Blue Star owner David Thompson asking if he could talk to Tommy about the manager’s job.
“When I told Tommy of their interest I said that we didn’t want to lose him but we would understand if he wanted to talk to Blue Star.
“After sleeping on it he came through to Workington last night and said that he had decided to leave. The job will be a little bit more money for him and it’s also much handier – only ten minutes from where he lives.
“Tommy has a nine-month rolling contract with us at Workington so we will be seeking compensation from the Blue Star club.
“In the meantime we are going to offer the job until the end of the season to Tony Elliott although I understand he might have been asked to go to Blue Star as well.”
Blue Star, who joined the UniBond League North this season from the Northern League have spent big but have only made an ordinary start. They currently lie 15th.
Cassidy, 57, would make no comment this morning on the situation but his record at Workington is second to none having improved Reds’ League position every season in the five years he has been at the club.
Ironically two of his players left Reds to join Blue Star - winger Dean Douglas and utility player Derek Townsley.
Reds were struggling to avoid relegation in the UniBond First Division when Cassidy arrived in October 2001.
But he steered them to safety that season and then led them to promotion in the next campaign, finishing seventh but going up to the new UniBond Premier Division for the 2004 campaign thanks to a re-organisation of the league structure.
And Reds went up again at the end of the 2004/5 season to Conference North via the play-offs after taking second-place in the table.
They finished 13th in their first season in Conference North and then third last year, reaching the play-offs.
