Hyde United have accepted the resignation of sporting director Darren Kelly “with great regret and reluctance”.
The former Tigers boss, pictured, left the BetVictor Northern Premier League club on Friday with a club statement citing family and logistical reasons for his departure.
The 40-year-old Northern Irishmen and former Halifax and Oldham manager is also expected to release his own statement explaining his departure.
A former defender who kicked off his career at Derry City, Kelly reportedly turned down the FC United of Manchester job in October 2018 and would be a popular choice for many clubs if he is planning a return to the touchline.
As the successor to Gary Rowe in April 2016, Kelly was tasked as manager with keeping the Tigers up. He failed but later guided the club to promotion and the first round proper of the FA Cup in 2017–18.
Kelly took over as sporting director last season following a restructuring of the NPL Premier Division‘s club football management structure and the appointment of Dave McGurk as manager.
Club Statement – https://t.co/VLNttzjeLn pic.twitter.com/CpHqaJqQQg
— Hyde United FC (@hydeunited) November 22, 2019
A statement from United’s board of directors read: “It is with great regret and reluctance that the Hyde United Board have accepted Darren Kelly’s resignation as sporting director.
“Darren joined the club on a permanent basis in the summer of 2016 and, as first team manager, was responsible for steadying and re-building the playing side into a successful one.
“Who can forget the promotion season of 2017/18 and the fantastic FA Cup run to the first round proper, as we hosted the live FA Cup draw and ended up with the plum BBC match v MK Dons.
“As well as his technical expertise, [he is a qualified PRO-Licence coach], Darren also left an indelible mark off the pitch, with both officials and supporters alike, due to his strength of personality, character and good humour; after all, not everyone gets their own song!
“Darren will be issuing his own statement shortly, but his leaving of Hyde United is purely down to family and logistical reasons. DK will always be welcome here and we certainly wish him well in whatever he chooses to do in the future.”
