Rooney to hold squad call to dissect Southport collapse

Adam Rooney, left, with former Hereford boss Paul Caddis

Hereford’s attention now turns firmly to Tuesday night’s meeting with play-off chasing Darlington at Sixways — but uncertainty remains over who will be leading the side.

Adam Rooney admitted he does not yet know whether he will still be in charge for the Darlington clash, with discussions scheduled with the chairman over the weekend following the heavy 5-1 defeat at Southport.

It was a game that Hereford started brightly, but after going a goal down on the Lancashire coast, the side collapsed.

“It’s obviously been a difficult few days,” Rooney said, reflecting on a turbulent week where Paul Caddis was sacked after Tuesday's 3-0 loss at AFC Telford United.

Asked if he expected to be in the dugout on Tuesday, Rooney responded with a nervous laugh: “Not yet, be surprised if I was now, to be honest.

“I spoke to the chairman, it was all fairly quick and he said we'd have a discussion over the weekend.

“The full focus was basically we focus on today and trying to get this game, make sure we come here, try and get some sort of positive result, try and win the game and then we kind of discussed that over the weekend. It's obviously a quick turnaround.”

Regardless of his own position, Rooney is determined the players regroup quickly. With no training for the part-timers ahead of Tuesday, he confirmed plans to hold a squad call on Sunday evening to review what went wrong and refocus minds ahead of Darlington’s visit.

He acknowledged that restoring belief will not be straightforward, but insisted heads cannot drop with another crucial fixture looming. Strengthening the squad may also form part of weekend discussions, as the Bulls look for players prepared to “fight and scrap” in the weeks ahead.

Whether Rooney is at the helm on Tuesday or not, the immediate task is clear: steady the ship at Sixways and produce the response supporters will demand against Darlington.