Managerial Career
After his retirement, Merrick took over from Pat Beasley as manager of Birmingham City in May 1960. Merrick's first competitive game in charge was a 2–2 draw away at Bolton Wanderers on 20 August 1960, and his first home game was against Sheffield Wednesday where his side drew 1–1. His side would go on to finish 19th in Division One. The Blues had another good run in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, reaching the final where they lost to Roma. The 1960-61 tournament did produce a win for Birmingham at the San Siro against Internazionale in the semi-final; they were the only English team to achieve this for around 40 years.
Although Merrick spent well in the transfer market, bringing in such players as Jimmy Harris and Welshman Ken Leek, Blues failed to make much impact on the First Division, and finished 17th in the 1961–62 season. Blues once again entered the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but went out in the second round to Espanyol.
By far the best achievement in Merrick's reign at the club came in the 1962–63 season, when he successfully led the Blues to the League Cup title, beating Aston Villa in the final thanks to goals from Ken Leek (2) and Jimmy Bloomfield. Birmingham finished 20th in the First Division. At the end of the 1963–64 season, in which Birmingham City again failed to make much impact in the league and finished 20th, the club requested Merrick's resignation.
Merrick had two more spells in management, with non-league Bromsgrove Rovers and Atherstone Town.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Birmingham City | May 1960 | June 1964 | 202 | 64 | 46 | 92 | 31.7 |
| Bromsgrove Rovers | 1967 | Unknown | – | – | – | – | – |
| Atherstone Town | 1970 | Unknown | – | – | – | – | – |
Read more about this topic: Gil Merrick
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