Sportsdesk Comment with Martin Dowey: Funk exit came as a shock

One thing I can tell you is that I wasn’t expecting Rudy Funk to step down as manager of Boro on Monday night.

Having spoken to him on Saturday and listened to his tales before the game at Harrogate, Rudy seemed his usual self.

You could tell something was wrong during the game though. There was none of the animation or passion that he lived and breathed from the bench in the previous 170-odd matches he had in charge.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And on the full-time whistle he marched straight off, handing his tie and scarf to fans.

When the assistant manager is sent out to talk to me after a game you know that there is something wrong, but a resignation was far from my thoughts.

The reasons surrounding Rudy’s departure have been veiled by both parties, but my only assumption is that it has to be a financial matter.

Money talks in football, from the lavish budgets of the Premier League right down to the Northern Counties Leagues.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He who has the bigger budget has the opportunity to bring in the better players.

Funk was never a man to stand still, so maybe ambition took over and if his plans were curtailed, that could have been the breaking point.

Rudy cited promises and trust being broken when I spoke to him on Tuesday, he was clearly aggravated by what had gone on.

Boro are balanced on a fine line at present, with crowds hovering uneasily around the break-even figure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That must put petty cash at a premium, forcing a tightening of the belt rather than a loosening of the purse-strings.

Whatever emerges from the fog, one thing is clear, Funk’s legacy will live on at Boro.

Boro are now an Evo-Stik League club, just a division shy of where the former Scarborough FC were heading before its sad termination in 2007.

Having watched Boro against both Darlington on Saturday and Harrogate on Monday then tweaks to the team are definitely needed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bryan Hughes and Paul Foot have been in charge of these alterations for the short-term and then who knows what might happen?

Maybe Funk’s leap from the helm could help their cause.

Especially if his wage from the club is plunged back into the budget. That could have been the cash boost Rudy was hoping for.