It's fair to say Darren Kelly isn't off to a dream start in his role as Oldham Athletic manager. Barely at the Boundary Park helm for a week, the former Northern Ireland international has already had to deny he is a supporter of the IRA, along with becoming the intended recipient of a 'death threat' following comments he was perceived to have made about Martin McGuinness on Twitter.
We decline the opportunity to insert an irrationally annoying, mundanely routine 'Well That Escalated Quickly' Ron Burgundy meme here.
Kelly's uncle was one of 13 civil rights supporters shot dead by paratroopers on January 30th, 1972. When McGuinness tweeted a picture of himself and Kelly's mother, Peggy, at a Bloody Sunday commemoration, Kelly himself sent thanks in a tweet (his account has since been deactivated), saying,
My mums been at me all week saying 'did Martin tweeter that pic of me and him lol #legend.
Should Kelly ever return to Twitter, he might have to work at his ill-advised hashtag game.
Reports suggest that the subsequent death threat was delivered by hand to the club and also demanded the former Derry City man to be relieved of his managerial duties.
The Greater Manchester Police were called to the scene just after 9am for further investigation, and Oldham Athletic released the following statement on the matter:
Oldham Athletic AFC are aware of threats made against individuals connected with the club. These matters have been passed to the police and the club will be making no further comments on this subject.
Fans also took to social media to express their disgust at Kelly's tweet to McGuinness, with some calling for a boycott of Oldham games.
