DARREN Edmondson’s departure may have been wrapped as a ‘by mutual consent’ agreement, but it felt a bit like a managerial mercy killing in the end.

Instead of defying the odds and remaining in charge Edmondson has departed, with Barrow losing four out of five games since the Cumbrian was given a month to save his job.

Following his appointment to the Holker Street hot-seat in December 2013, Edmondson led Barrow from the Conference North gutter to the title – from tears to glory no less.

Some will believe that he deserved more time. After all, under his leadership AFC earned promotion back into non-league’s top flight one year ahead of schedule.

But rightly or wrongly, highly ambitious Bluebirds owner Paul Casson does not possess sufficient faith that he can iron out AFC’s fundamental faults and ultimately lead the club to National League success – or at least not achieve that feat quickly enough for his liking.

In such a scenario, there can only be one outcome whatever the arguments for and against.

It’s true that Barrow have displayed encouraging signs at times this season.

Victories have arrived against genuine promotion candidates Tranmere and Eastleigh, while the final National League play-off spot has often not seemed too far away from a points perspective at least.

But Casson is a very analytical creature and at least some of his concerns would have been deep-rooted and long-standing – possibly even going back to last season.

The quality and entertainment value of Barrow’s football – with some fans criticising ‘long-ball’ tactics at times – and their struggle to net goals and show sufficient killer instinct are among the issues that have cropped up.

Their late capitulation and 3-1 defeat against relegation-threatened AFC Halifax Town and the beatings handed out to them by the likes of Grimsby (4-1) and Bromley (5-0) did not bode well having displayed admirable determination to grind out crucial wins last season.

The late 2-1 win over Hednesford, not to mention the decisive 3-2 final-day success at Lowestoft spring to mind.

And could Edmondson be trusted to splash the club’s cash in the future? Casson possesses genuine belief in the current squad and witnessing some of Edmondson’s most recent permanent signings failing to make a significant impact was hard to stomach.

Following last season’s title triumph, Barrow instantly switched back to a full-time footballing operation, and defeats against part-timers like Altrincham this term added more fuel to the fire.

During the summer, Edmondson convinced Casson to let his former Carlisle team-mate, Paul Murray, join his backroom team. But the coach was axed by the chairman just seven league games in.

Edmondson, in public at least, took that blow on the chin but Murray’s exit served to undermine the manager’s authority, while Casson had indirectly fired a shot across the manager’s bows.

Not that you would have known that at the time. Following chairman/manager talks Casson said: “Truthfully, I expect Edmo to be manager of this club for the next 10 years.”

Now that’s what you call a vote of confidence, and let’s be clear, Casson desperately wanted Edmondson to succeed.

Following that unscheduled summit, Barrow beat Eastleigh 1-0 but their continued lack of consistency and inability to string two wins together was to have a suffocating effect on Edmondson’s reign.

Ahead of Barrow’s FA Cup tie at Fylde on October 24, Casson was sticking to the script by insisting that Edmo would still be in charge in May. But AFC’s subsequent ‘limp’ display and dismal 1-0 defeat at Kellamergh Park led to a furious re-write of that script.

Edmondson was given a month to save his job although, in reality, he was on a hiding to nothing as there was not enough time to tick a sufficient amount of boxes.

Casson took in the 3-1 home defeat by Grimsby Town earlier this month and after the final whistle he’d seen enough – the search for a new gaffer began.

And so after just under two years in charge, Edmondson’s tenure is over.

But he can feel proud of laying down the foundation of what should be an exciting future.

- STEVE SHAW