Mick Docherty

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Mick Docherty (born Preston, Lancashire October 29, 1950) is a former footballer and football manager. He is currently assistant manager at Gillingham.

In the 1980-81 season, Docherty took over as caretaker manager of Sunderland with four games of the season to go. He managed to save the club from relegation with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on the last day of the season. They finished 17th, two points clear of relegation.

Since then he has consistently managed to find work in the game, although rarely as a manager. He was briefly manager of Hartlepool United in 1984 a spell, chiefly noted for the signing of the ailing Ray Kennedy from Swansea City.

He later assisted Dave Sutton and succeeded him in 1994 as manager at Rochdale, accepting the job after three preferred candidates declined it. In 1994/95 he led Dale to the Northern Final of the Auto Windscreens Trophy. In his only full season in charge, 1995/96, a bright start led to an FA Cup third round match at Liverpool. Thereafter the team, some of whom looked unfit throughout the season, went into a steep decline and Docherty's commitment was called into question, not helped by an apparently colourful private life. This season is well-documented in the fly on the wall book Kicking In The Wind. Shortly after the end of the season, Docherty was dismissed, apparently due to alarm at some of his decisions on the retained list, and replaced by Graham Barrow

Docherty was coach at Burnley where he worked alongside Ronnie Jepson and Stan Ternent. He was released alongside them at the end of the 2003-04 season, but rejoined Jepson, now manager of Gillingham, as his assistant in January 2006.

Preceded by: Ken Knighton

Sunderland Manager 1981

Succeeded by: Alan Durban