Why Gary Caldwell’s exit from Exeter City to Wigan left fans feeling betrayed | OneFootball

Exeter City showed incredibly loyalty to Gary Caldwell and he jumped ship at the first opportunity to rejoin Wigan Athletic.

Gary Caldwell choked back tears in his final interview as Exeter City manager.

The new Wigan Athletic boss was confirmed as leaving the Grecians on Monday morning for a second stint in the hot seat at the Brick Community Stadium, and it was clearly a decision that was not taken lightly.

Caldwell is well liked at the Tics after captaining the club in the Premier League, lifting the FA Cup, and managing them to the League One title in the 2015/16 season.

He was promptly given the heave-ho the following campaign, and he bounced around a few management jobs before landing the ultimate career rehabilitation role at Exeter.

The Grecians haven't sacked a manager since Neil McNab was relieved of his duties 23 years ago back in February 2003 as the club slid out of the Football League for the first time in their history.

At any other club in England's professional game, Caldwell would have been sacked on a couple of occasions, and most certainly in a run of over 100 days without a win in the league, with three points taken from 13 games in the autumn and winter of the 2023/24 season.

Many supporters thought he should go, and there was plenty of disquiet at St James Park during that time, but the board stuck with him and, despite scoring just three goals in those 13 games, he kept his job and turned things around.

This season the Grecians were going nicely, sitting mid-table after a slow start with faint hopes of a miracle play-off push.

However, Caldwell's departure, coupled with four draws and a loss in their last five League One games have put an end to those dreams and the more realistic goal of mid-table obscurity is very much the aim once again as the club brace for more budget cuts next term and what looks very likely to be a long relegation battle.

Gary Caldwell's return to Wigan is a risk

It's hard to begrudge the former Celtic and Wigan defender the chance to move back up north, and it was well known that his family still lives in the Manchester area and that he would often make the four-hour slog north straight after games to see his partner and children.

Given that Exeter have a relegation-level budget in League One, he will also presumably be landing a big pay rise, but taking on the Tics, who were 22nd heading into the midweek fixtures, is a big gamble, and he won't get the time he was afforded in EX4 if he doesn't hit the ground running and secure their third-tier status come the summer.

After his final match, the 0-0 draw with Northampton Town on Saturday, Caldwell looked back on his time at Exeter and outlined his reasons for leaving. "It's been a difficult week," a visibly emotional Caldwell told Exeter's website in his final interview.

"There's been a lot going on behind the scenes so it was a difficult decision for me. I think it's club that's been incredible and yeah, it's tough. It was tough being away from our families and that's a big reason why we [Caldwell and his assistant David Perkins] are moving back.

"When I joined this club it felt different. I felt I was going to get the time and the support that you need, any manager needs, to be successful.

"There's been up and down moments in those three and a half years but, ultimately, we've achieved some really good times in a difficult league and a league in which I think we're really punching above our weight in terms of what the club is.

"It's the first time in my career in management that, in a real crisis, the people who told me at the beginning that they were going to be behind me, that they were going to support me in difficult moments, they did."

Gary Caldwell didn't repay Exeter's loyalty

And that thought from Caldwell there is what sticks in the craw. Caldwell was given loyalty and time that you simply don't get elsewhere and, frankly, he won't get it at Wigan, who have had six managers this decade, either.

There was a fair amount of dross served up during Caldwell's time at St James Park, but he's finished on a high and no-one can argue that his team played some great stuff this season and at times in previous years too.

But, at the end of the day, when times get tough, specifically Exeter's impending budget issues, Caldwell has taken the first chance to jump ship, despite the faith shown in him when sacking him would probably have been the easier option.

He could well do a good job at Wigan, but he's been brought in to keep them in League One. If it goes pear-shaped over the next few months, he might wish he had repaid some of the loyalty shown to him at Exeter since arriving in 2022.