Hutton backing players to avoid the drop

Former Derry City boss Peter Hutton believes the squad he has left behind at Brandywell is more than good enough to escape relegation in the last six games of the season.

The Candy Stripes legend was relieved of his managerial position late on Tuesday evening, less than 24 hours after Derry’s 3-0 defeat at Turner’s Cross, which brought an end to not only the FAI Cup hopes, but also of European football for the second year running.

With City also hovering precariously above the drop zone in the Premier Division, chairman Philip O’Doherty made the decision to remove the manager and place assistant Paul Hegarty in charge until at least the end of the season.

The decision was a huge shock for Hutton, who understandably requested time to digest the news, before commenting further.

However, he did go on record to insist that the team he left behind is strong enough to move away from the foot of the table in the last six games of the season.

“I wish the players all the best in the run in,” he said. “The squad that’s there at the moment is more than capable of getting out of that situation. With everyone now fit and available for the reminder of the season I have no doubt that they will escape the relegation battle, because I think they already were turning the corner.”

Hutton (pictured), Derry’s record appearance holder, has spent the better part of two decades at the club, playing over 600 times, winning eleven major honours in his time there, including one League of Ireland title, three FAI Cups and seven League Cup successes.

The former club captain also took on the role of caretaker role on two occasions, in 2004 and 2007 before eventually returning to the club as Roddy Collins assistant in 2014 after a brief spell as Finn Harps manager.

Hutton was thrust into the role of manager earlier than even he would have predicted after Collins’ tenure at the Brandywell ended after just 13 games.

Last season Hutton went on to lead Derry to an eighth place finish, and while he also led Derry to a record 9-0 aggregate win over Welsh side Aberystwyth in the Europa League, the highlight was undoubtedly City’s run into the FAI Cup final.

Unfortunately, Derry entered the final against St. Patrick’s Athletic struggling for form, and comfortably lost 2-0 t the Aviva Stadium.

The highlights have been few and far between this season, with Hutton unable to replace top goal scorers Michael Duffy and Rory Patterson, instead bringing in the likes of Anthony Elding and later on Mark Quigley.

Despite winning the first game of the season at Galway, Derry soon found themselves at the bottom end of the Premier Division, where, despite strengthening the squad in recent weeks, the Candy Stripes remain in serious trouble, just one point above Sligo Rovers in the relegation play-off spot, and three points above a rejuvenated Limerick in the automatic relegation spot.

Hutton won just 22 of his 66 games in charge of Derry City in all competitions.