IT is less than a year since Raj Singh took control of Darlington Football Club and it is safe to assume he did not plan celebrating his first anniversary in a month’s time with manager number four.

Following in the footsteps of Colin Todd, Steve Staunton and Simon Davey, Ryan Kidd has stepped in to the role after being handed a two-year contract to begin his first frontline managerial role.

The length of the deal for a rookie boss might seem surprising, but it is an indication of the trust the Darlington hierarchy at The Northern Echo Arena have in the 38-year-old.

With speculation mounting that Davey, who confirmed his intention to quit this week, will be taking over at either Stockport or Hereford United, history suggests he would try to take his trusted lieutenant with him.

But, unlike the clause in Davey’s contract which allowed him to turn his back on the Quakers for nothing after a 28-day notice period, the club’s managing director Graham Fordy has revealed the same cannot happen again.

“We are going through a learning process,” said Fordy.

“This contract clearly states that Ryan is here for two years.

“We have gone through a process in the last 12 months, because of the results, where we have terminated two managers’ contracts. If you terminate a contract, you have to pay the contract up.

“We tried to cover ourselves this time with Simon (Davey) by saying, ‘there’s a year’s contract, but it’s a month either way if it doesn’t work out’. That’s the reality.

“In reality, it’s not a month, it’s instant if someone says he is off. It’s leave your car keys on the desk and best of luck and we have moved quickly to appoint Ryan.”

Singh and Fordy have considered other applicants since rumours first surfaced last weekend that Davey was planning to walk out on the club.

Colin Cooper, Lennie Lawrence, Martin Gray or Kevan Smith are among those who could have been installed.

“There were several applicants who attracted us. There are many managers out of work and we received CVs straight-away,” said Fordy.

“We automatically thought that if Simon took another job then Ryan would go with him.

It was a surprise to us that Ryan knew nothing about it.

Straight away he threw his hat in to the ring.

“He is 38, done well at No 2 and he is looking forward to the opportunity. It gives us the advantage of continuity.

“There have been a lot of changes to the squad, Ryan was part of that process, so his views were similar to Simon because they were taken together.”

More details of the manner of Davey’s departure have now emerged. It is understood that from Florida, where he is coaching at Paul Scholes’ Academy, he emailed Singh last Friday, out of the blue, to reveal an intention to resign.

After days of trying to contact the former Barnsley boss for an explanation, a hardcopy of the email arrived by post on Tuesday, sparking Wednesday’s statement confirming Darlington had started to look for his successor.

As Kidd was being paraded on the Arena pitch yesterday lunch-time, neither Fordy, Singh nor the new manager had heard from Davey.

“If he had rang and said ‘I have this opportunity’, I think the chairman would have discussed it and maybe said ‘all the best’,” said Fordy, who reiterated Singh’s claims that there had been no disagreements with Davey over agents fees.

“Ryan says Simon has always wanted to work in America, it could be that. But unless Ryan clears his desk for him, he will have to come back to the stadium.

“They both live in Preston and the car could get transferred from one to the other and Ryan could bring his mobile back for him. Whether Simon decides to drive over to drop them off we will see.”