Local gaffer Leighton Mills has shared a public statement after he reluctantly stepped away from his position as manager of Darwen FC, with many supporters shocked to learn he had resigned from the role effective immediately.
Darwen confirmed that Mills had resigned over the weekend following their most recent fixture in the First Division North of the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL), but now Leighton himself has come out to clarify some crucial factors behind the decision.
The Bolton-based manager recently celebrated his first anniversary in post at the Lancashire club, with their social media having only just written, “What a year it has been. Memorable ‘El Hotpot’ home win. Eight wins in a row. Made the Anchor a fortress”, and adding “This is only the beginning” on 30 August.
However, while there was clearly a keenness from both the administration and the fans for him to continue in the role, the former Daisy Hill FC boss felt compelled to part ways only half a dozen games into the season. Much to the “regret” of Darwen FC, here’s why…
Detailing an “unexpected meeting with the owner/chairman” following their 1-1 draw against Fulwood AFC, Mills revealed that he was informed the club were “no longer able to offer the 25/26 player budget as agreed to in pre-season due to sponsor issues.”
He explained that this would have left him with “less than half of the initially agreed budget and a squad of players meeting said budget”, before being given two options: either inform the team that their weekly wages were being halved, or release these players and start from scratch.
An ex-player around Greater Manchester himself – going to work in scouting for Preston and even serving as Director of Football at Prestwich Heys amidst management roles – he stated that “neither of these proposed options sat right with [him]…
“I have too much respect for my lads to ask them to play for a wage that does not match their abilities on the pitch. Over the last 12 months, myself, Connor [Hughes, assistant coach] and the management team, have put our hearts and souls into developing a squad who can compete in the top five of the league.
“I strongly believe the squad we had had the ability to go far in NW Counties, and we were all so excited to see what we could achieve this season, but unfortunately, this has now come to an end.
His winning streak and record at home, in particular, certainly gave ‘The Salmoners’ plenty to cheer about over the past year.
Mills went on to add: “I would like to thank everyone at Darwen FC for welcoming me, my management team and my ideas to the club little over 12 months ago. I wish the club and the new manager nothing but success for the rest of the 25/26 campaign.”
“Lastly, THE FANS.. you’ve got us through the tough times – thank you for welcoming me, supporting me and trusting in my vision over the last 12 months. You are a credit to the football club!
“As much as I am devastated to of left an incredible club like Darwen, I know it’s the right decision for me. This chapter is now closed, it’s time to open a new one…”
With other projects outside of sport, such as being the founder and director of Open Air Bounce in Over Hulton back in BL5, we’re sure he’ll be plenty busy in his time away from football – however long or short that may be.
Spanish journalist rubbishes reports of Barcelona debating ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early
Danny Jones
Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué has come out to rubbish reports that FC Barcelona have been considering ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early.
The well-known football reporter, who regularly works with the likes of Sky Sports, CBS Sports, BBC and more, is one of many to have publicly decried false claims made about the Manchester United loanee, who joined the La Liga giants at the start of this summer.
Barca themselves are also said to have quashed the rumours, with Balagué’s quotes having now been widely circulated online.
Speaking via X over the weekend, the 56-year-old put it simply: that the rumblings are nonsense, reassuring that the club have plenty of faith in his abilities.
Absolutely rubbish that Barcelona is planning to end up early @MarcusRashford loan deal
Barça told his representative that they have a lot of confidence in Rashford’s potential and that they believe he will recover as a top player
As you can see, the Catalan-born RCD Espanyol fan also chose to publicly align himself with former England footballer, Gary Lineker, who has suggested that a targeted and discriminatory narrative against Rashford has developed in recent years.
Though he didn’t state it verbatim, Balagué added: “No more to say, apart from the fact I agree with Gary Lineker and his treatment by some media.”
In case you were unaware of what he’s precisely referring to, Lineker said in a chat with the Man United forward on his The Rest Is Football podcast that he believes Rashford “wouldn’t face the same criticism if he was white.”
Having also made the move from Britain to Barcelona back in 1986 (spending a total of three seasons there), the 64-year-old knows plenty about adjusting from playing in one country to another.
You can see the interview in full here.
The interview was conducted shortly after Rashford’s loan deal was completed, and he had plenty to say about his boyhood team.
Responding to Balagué’s social media post, one commenter wrote: “This nonsense is coming from racist journalists in England who refuse to leave [Rashford] alone. They bullied him when he was in England, especially during times when he seemed unhappy.
“Now, these haters have followed him to Barcelona. Rashford is one of the kindest players in the world, but these clowns just won’t let him live his life in peace.”
It is worth noting, however, that the original reports in question and ultimately aggregated by media across Europe and here in the UK come from a domestic outlet, El Nacional.
While he is yet to rediscover the form of his peak years in United red at the Camp Nou, he is now entering what are traditionally seen as the ‘prime’ period in a footballer’s career and did show more positive signs on loan at Aston Villa during the second half of the previous campaign.
At 27, there is still plenty of time to turn things around; that being said, after being brought back into the national team and with his parent club holding an option to buy clause for around a reported £20 million, the question remains whether he will be returning to Old Trafford at the end of the term. Speaking of…
How Greater Manchester ranks as NHS ‘league tables’ are published for first time ever
Emily Sergeant
A ‘pioneering’ new system of league tables revealing the best and worst performing NHS Trusts has been published for the first time ever.
This marks a new era of ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’ in the NHS, with the league tables delivering on the Government’s promise to drive up standards, tackle variation in care, and ensure people get the high-quality service they rightly expect.
Every trust in England – from urgent and emergency care, through to elective operations and mental health services – will be ranked quarterly against ‘clear and consistent’ standards.
“This is not just about data, it’s about delivery,” the Government says.
Letting patients and the public access more data will help to drive improvement even faster. It will support them to identify where they should demand even better from their NHS.
Read more about the new league tables on overall performance for NHS services across England ⬇️ https://t.co/e8DYNakbfR
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures reveal that four out of five of England’s 134 ‘acute’ hospital trusts are considered to be failing.
Among the best-performing hospitals in the country was Manchester’s specialist Cancer hospital, The Christie, which was actually ranked in an impressive third place, while across Greater Manchester as a region, the highest ranked trusts were Tameside and Bolton, which came in 58 and 59 respectively on the list.
Manchester University Foundation Trust, in the heart of the city centre, came in 71st place.
The rest of the region’s trusts all came in the bottom half of the rankings – with Stockport at 86, Wigan at 92, and finally the Northern Care Alliance at 116.
NHS ‘league tables’ ranking every trust have been published for first time ever / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
Sadly, it was revealed that more than half of the 20 worst general hospitals are in the north of England, but it is London that dominates the top half of the table.
“These league tables will identify where urgent support is needed and allow high-performing areas to share best practises with others, taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS,” explained Heath Secretary, Wes Streeting.
“We must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it.
Danny Jones -
9th September 2025 
