Whitey Anderson will step down as Ballinamallard United manager at the end of this current season after ten glorious years in charge of the first team at Ferney Park.
The Omagh native will be remembered as the man who brought Premier League football to Fermanagh for the first time ever and he leaves with the club looking like they will go into a fifth successive season in the top flight of Northern Irish football.
Anderson states that he took the decision to step down as manager early in the current campaign.
“At the end of last season I made a decision that I would go again, I was up for the challenge and myself and the club made a lot of effort to get players in and we put together a squad which I feel in all honesty has underachieved this season for one reason or another. About September time I just felt it wasn’t right but we fought on and in January time we put a lot of time and effort in to bring players in to make sure that we retain Premier League status.”
That point remains up in the air as the Carrick and Portadown situations rumble on but for Whitey, he felt the time was right to hand over the reins.
“It's been an incredible journey but I just think it is the right time for Ballinamallard Football Club, myself and my family. I don’t think there is anybody qualified locally to understand what it takes to run a Premier League club. It’s a unique situation and it takes a lot of time and effort. In many respects I would love to be able to stay on but there comes a time when the batteries are low and you just need a break. It was probably a pre-season too far. Believe it or not, people close to me still thought that I would have stayed on and I think they were slightly shocked when I did make the decision. I’m going to miss it and I met some fantastic people and stood on the sideline with managers who were legends in the local game but I’m glad I made the decision,” he added.
And he feels that a new voice will give the players a new lease of life next season.
“There is no such thing in this life as people not been replaceable. The reality is that we are all replaceable, there is always someone to take over. I think a new manager will be good for the club because when he comes in he is going to have such enthusiasm and energy. He will want to bring new ideas to the table and he will have a new way of doing things and I think that breath of fresh air will be good for the club and will energize everybody,” he commented.
Anderson has been a leading light at Ferney Park long before he took over the first team. His vision saw him take the first team from the club to the Mid Ulster Youth League, the first team to  the Foyle Cup. He was the first man to bring a team to the Gothia Cup, as well as a team to the Irish Youth League, all things that will fill him full of pride when he looks back.
It is his time with the first team though that he will be remembered most for. He steered the club to the Championship title in 2011/12 and then to fifth spot in the Premier League in their first year in 2012/13. So what are his abiding memories of his time at the helm?
“There are so many good memories. When Ballinamallard were promoted to the Premier League I seen the joy it brought to so many people. We then had our first ever game in the premier league while performance wise the 3-1 victory over Linfield at Windsor Park was the most complete performance ever in my time in charge. It was an incredible performance. The general memory though is of seeing so many people coming to Ballinamallard to see Premier League football and seeing the joy on the face of the supporters at different times. I’ve managed in the Premier League for four years, I never thought I would manage for one minute and from that first minute it has been a bonus.”
There has also been low points along the way.
“Being beaten 11-0 by Portadown was not a nice experience and being relegated in my first season from the First Division in the Irish League into the Second Division with a very young team was another low point. That laid the foundation though for what lay ahead and the 2008 squad that competed in the Championship was a very special squad.”
It is the squad that won the Championship and played in that first ever Premier League season that holds something special for Anderson.
“The team that won the Championship in 2011/12 and played in the Premier League 2012/13, that squad will never, in my opinion,  be equalled locally. It was a brilliant squad of players.”
And one player has been on the journey throughout. 
“The only player who has been consistently there from 2008 has been James McKenna. He has been a fantastic servant to the club and is a fantastic player,” said Whitey.
It seems that Anderson’s connection with Ballinamallard is set to continue with Chairman Jeff Aiken revealing in this week’s paper that he has spoken to him about a youth development role.
And it is something that Anderson himself feels is crucial to the club.
“There was an awful lot of good work going on throughout my time behind the scenes to get the club to where it is now but for me the most significant aspect was our youth development programme. 
"We had so many players who came through the system at different stages although the biggest challenge has been when you go into the Premier League to ask a young player from the U18s to step into the Premier League, it is very difficult. I believe the academy system we have is very good but I also believe it can be better.”
So, what does the immediate future hold for Whitey Anderson?
“I’m going to head to the Euros with my son Richard for ten days, and I’m going to try and improve on my terrible golf swing,” he laughed.