“The more I thought about it, it was something I quite liked the sound of”: Jim Bentley on his new Morecambe role and retained list responsibility
Jim Bentley will be leaving Morecambe’s retained list to the club’s new manager, whenever his successor in the dugout is announced.
Bentley’s final game of his second spell in charge comes at Forest Green Rovers tomorrow (12.30pm), when the already-relegated Shrimps end an eminently forgettable National League campaign.
Panjab Warriors’ inaugural season of ownership will end with the club facing regional football for the first time in 31 years before the annual question as to which players will be offered terms to stay with Morecambe.
Asked whether he will be compiling the list, based on his 18 matches in charge, Bentley said: “I’ll have my opinions on the retained list but that’s down to the board and the new manager.
“I don’t know where they are with that, but I’ve had a lot of chats and a lot of agents ringing me up.
“I’ve also been forwarding emails to the club if they haven’t sent them directly.”
Once Saturday’s game is out of the way, Bentley’s attention then turns to his new role with the club.
It was announced earlier this month that he would take a position behind the scenes, which the Shrimps described as supporting the club’s development in football and non-footballing areas.
While some might consider that job as providing the potential for Bentley to step on the new manager’s toes, he doesn’t envisage a situation where that might happen.
“I’ve got no title or anything like that yet,” he said.
“I can say it won’t be a director of football role, it’s more like being a face of the club so to speak.
“When I spoke to the owners when I first came back (in February), they were surprised I wasn’t at the club at the time.
“They said that, for the service I had given and my passion for the club, they still wanted me at the club to help move it forward even though I wasn’t going to be the manager after this season.
“At the time, I was just concentrating on the managerial side of things, it wasn’t something I had given any thought to – but the more I thought about it, it was something I quite liked the sound of.
“I’ve said all along, I think it needs a new manager. I can do the job – and a lot of it excites me about getting the club back on track – but we’ve been relegated and I think the right thing is to step aside and let someone else have a crack at it.”