It wasn’t the promotion Wally Backman wanted, but he is closer to his goal of managing in the majors.

The former Mets second baseman, who spent last year as the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones and interviewed with GM Sandy Alderson to replace Jerry Manuel after last season, Monday was officially named manager of the team’s Double-A Binghamton affiliate.

It’s been a long, slow road back for Backman, who was the manager of the Diamondbacks for four days in November 2004, before news surfaced about past legal and financial problems, including an arrest for DUI that cost him the job.

After spending time managing in independent leagues, Backman guided the Cyclones to a first-place finish in the short-season Single-A New York-Penn League last season and was expected to take over at Binghamton for Tim Teufel, who last week became the manager of Triple-A Buffalo.