Mark Cooper: Why I had to leave Telford United
Former AFC Telford boss Mark Cooper today admitted the opportunity to work alongside new Swindon supremo Kevin MacDonald was too good an opportunity to turn down.
Cooper, who will serve as MacDonald's assistant at the County Ground, says he wishes the Bucks well – but admits their squad would have needed major surgery to give the club a fighting chance of avoiding relegation. The 44-year-old former Tamworth and Peterborough manager tried to wheel and deal in the loan market, but was unable to end a sorry winless run of 21 league matches during his five games at the helm.
His assistant, Graham Hyde, has been handed the reins, as Cooper was, until the end of the season and was due to take charge of his first game at high-flying Mansfield this afternoon.
"Telford is a well-run club but they've just not got the right blend of players this year," said Cooper. "I'm sure they will put that right.
"I worked on the team and hopefully Graham will carry that on and will turn things around."
Cooper's connections with MacDonald, who will have to maintain Paolo Di Canio's promotion momentum, only extend to a watching brief at Aston Villa training sessions where the Scot had been a key figure for 17 years until his departure under Paul Lambert's regime.
"It came out of the blue to be honest. I knew nothing about it until I got a call on Thursday asking if I could come onto the coaching staff at Swindon," added Cooper.
"I couldn't really turn it down. I know Kevin a little bit from his days at Villa.
"I'd been there watching them train. He's offered me the chance to learn from him and I'm looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, AFC Telford's players have been left under the stewardship of their third boss in five weeks.
Cooper had been drafted in to replace Andy Sinton, who left the club by mutual consent on January 31.
Skipper Ryan Valentine said: "I'm surprised, but under the circumstances Mark was working at Telford you can't blame him when a better job opportunity came up.
"The players have got to concentrate on their football. It does look from the outside that the place is in turmoil, but I've not seen evidence of players breaking away into groups."
