It was the inevitable A-League coaching saga of the season. As the losses continued, it increasingly became a question of when, rather than if, Mehmet Durakovic would part ways with Melbourne Victory.

A strange appointment to start with, the signing of marquee Harry Kewell was perhaps the death knell for the 46-year-old manager. With expectations high on the back of his signing, the inexperienced Durakovic was always going to struggle.

And with a board insistent on shifting focus to the team and coaching staff, rather than examine its own shortcomings, the partnership was never going to last.

But while Durakovic’s dismissal may have been coming for months, and indeed the coach only survived by one vote in a board meeting in November, the appointment of Jim Magilton as his replacement was less foreseeable.

Magilton has an inspiring record as a sturdy midfielder, notching up over 250 appearances for Ipswich Town and captaining Northern Ireland. As a manager though, the Belfast boy has had less success. With several average years at Ipswich and a short stint with Queens Park Rangers, it’s not much of a resume.

After leaving QPR due to an alleged altercation with Ákos Buzsáky, Magilton has acted as assistant manager at Shamrock Rovers. And now, after the Victory board ingloriously disposed of Durakovic, he has taken over a potentially poisoned chalice at Melbourne.

Given his record, Magilton was never going to be billed as a marquee appointment. He was originally sounded out during the Victory’s extensive managerial search earlier in the year, along with the likes of Roy Keane. While Melbourne eventually stuck with Durakovic, this time around it appears Keane or another high profile manager was too dear, and Magilton got the gig.

The Northern Irishman now faces a tough situation at his new club, with the Victory languishing in sixth place having picked up only four wins from 15 games. He will also encounter an increasingly hostile fan base, angry at the Melbourne board and the club’s numerous failings.

If he can negotiate these landmines and get to the dressing room, inside he’ll find a host of problems. Former Liverpool winger Kewell hasn’t lived up to expectations, and rumours abound that other squad members are displeased with the star’s heightened status and special privileges.

Nonetheless, given Durakovic failed to sort out these problems, Magilton’s appointment can hardly make things much worse.

As Mike Tuckerman writes, ‘Victory fans have got what they want – the axing of Mehmet Durakovic – and Jim Magilton now has little to lose as he takes up the reins of the A-League’s latest crisis club.’

Magilton may have nothing to lose, but his appointment still raises questions, and several observers have suggested Melbourne’s decision flies in the face of Australian managerial talent. Plumping for a Northern Irish coach with an average record shows blatant disregard for a number of talented locals.

In Magilton’s defence, he has a UEFA Pro Licence, has been a leader throughout his career and has a desire for attacking football. Certainly Ron Reed of the Herald Sun thinks Magilton is the man for the job, claiming that ‘Jim Magilton comes across as a cool man for a crisis. Perhaps growing up in Northern Ireland will do that for you.’

And while the manager’s nationality may be a sore spot for the unemployed Australian managers, it is certainly not a criticism to be used against him personally. When news of Magilton’s appointment started to leak into cyberspace, A-League fans where quick on the anti-British vitriol.

Judging a manager simply on his country of birth is blatant racism, and claiming the British make bad managers is a ridiculously ill-informed view – just look at the number of Scottish managers in the English Premier League.

But regardless, there seems little point flying Magilton over with his slightly better than mediocre past experience, when Australian coaches are waiting in the wings.

Maybe the Melbourne Victory board have discovered a diamond in the rough, and the new manager will be able to push his team up the table while dealing with disgruntled players and fans.

If he fails however, the board will have nowhere else to run. They might have received the benefit of the doubt on Durakovic, but their choice of Magilton could finally force some change at the top of the A-League’s most popular club.

The manager’s words at his unveiling certainly bode well, both as a sign of his ambition, and the expectations he hopes to live up to.

“Everyone talks about Barcelona, they are a great side. I think the greatest success that Pep Guardiola has achieved in his career is to get his players to work their socks off.

“I think I can instill a work ethic into this side and that passion and desire into every individual.”