FOOTBALL is business these days and failing managers have to go. But Neale Cooper’s decision to quit the Gills after just five months seems premature.

Most bosses want to give themselves longer to turn things around. Many in business would not even think of leaving until they are pushed – and then with a handsome but undeserved payoff.

Cooper’s decision sounds honourable but is a double whammy in a week that confirmed the club’s financial crisis. That was inevitable after the blows of relegation, lower gates and the loss of revenue from the collapsed ITV Digital project.

Football finances are generally woeful. Gills chairman Paul Scally is an exception to the general rule that business brains go out the window where soccer is concerned. He has run a tight ship and with his managers and players achieved remarkable things, largely on a shoestring.

Fans are more fickle than company shareholders, demanding instant results without bothering to understand the financial juggling behind the scenes.

It is vital for the Medway Towns, a conurbation of more than 250,000, with thousands more within easy travelling distance of Priestfield, to have a successful league club.

Although these are worrying times for Gillingham, there is a good chance of survival. Mr Scally is a canny operator and Gillingham is a good club.

But it has been affected by the malaise darkening all clubs – excessive pay. Sky high Premiership salaries cascade envy down the leagues and lower clubs feel obliged to pay over the odds.

Staff who do not perform in the workplace struggle to survive. Staff with poor motivation or the wrong attitude are often the first to go. Yet it is usually football managers who fall on their sword.

Players cannot duck responsibility for poor performance both on and off the field. They get paid enough these days to act responsibly. They earn the sort of salaries that most senior workers would die for.

Wages bear no resemblance to those in the general workplace. No wonder ordinary people are deserting the game, replaced by the well-heeled and corporate hospitality market.

Until soccer gets its wage structure in order, clubs will struggle financially. Gillingham has largely done that. Well-wishers will be hoping that a survival package can be worked out – for the good of Medway, local business and a club with a proud history.