Sweeping changes have been to the club's backroom staff in the wake of the Crewe Alexandra defeat. Assistant manager Gerry Taggart, head of sports science Paul Butler and reserve-team boss Lee Duxbury have all been placed on gardening leave with immediate effect. Paul Dickov has been given a vote of confidence and goalkeeping coach Paul Gerrard will be acting as his assistant until something more permanent is announced.
Owner Simon Corney has put out an official statement which reads:
“The board is concerned with the bad run of results and understands the frustration of fans to the point where it realised that positive action needs to be taken. We appointed Paul Dickov in June 2010, and it has been a vast learning curve for him. He has received mine and the board's support along the way because we believe that we have the right man on board. However, in recent times we, as a board, are unanimous in the belief that the chemistry of our backroom team and coaches is not right and this has been discussed with Paul in depth. I thank those members of staff who are leaving for their commitment and support in the past, but believe that changes are necessary for the good of the club.”