Liddle close to tears (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Liddle close to tears

8:00am Monday 30th April 2012 in Sport By Craig Stoddart, Deputy Sports Editor

Craig Liddle admitted he came close to tears during on "an emotional day" as Darlington put an end to the season with a 3-1 win over Kettering Town.

He was on the touchline for the final time having been interim manager since November, but he has made it clear he would prefer to concentrate on youth football.

Liddle has not ruled out working in Quakers' youth set-up, but he admitted that other clubs have shown an interest in recruiting the 40-year-old.

"I've had offers and I will be in youth football no matter what happens [to Darlington]," he said. "I think this has put the final nail in the coffin if I did have any ambitions to be a manager.

"I don't enjoy the pressure that goes with it. I take it to heart because I'm that sort of person and the club means so much to me.

"So my future is in youth football but we'll see what happens here. There's a big month while we try and rescue the youth set-up here."

Liddle swiftly headed for the tunnel at full-time on Saturday, only to soon remerge in order to applaud Quakers' supporters.

Asked if he had been close to tears, he said: "On a number of occasions, but I had to keep myself together. My daughter would be embarrassed if her dad was to break down in tears so I managed to keep myself together.

"I didn't want to hang about too much because it's been an emotional day for me, but it was important that I did go out on to the pitch and say my thanks.

"I think people know how much respect I have for the club, but I felt I had to go back out and say my farewell.

"We've been through this together, me and the players, it's not just been us and them, it's been us. That's why we've not been battered week in, week out, there's been a togetherness.

"We've not been good enough, but we've put up a fight and disrupted one or two teams' seasons in terms of the results we got against the likes of Grimsby and Luton."

Saturday's win represented Darlington's first victory since mid-December.

Liddle added: "I needed a win for my own peace of mind because I began to think it was never going to happen for me. You begin to question yourself, despite the circumstances that you're working under.

"So it was huge for me and hopefully it's huge for the club because now that record is behind us and it can look to the future."