Ryan Gibbs said he is ‘gutted’ and ‘shocked’ after he’s sacked from Haverhill Rovers and replaced by ex-Lakenheath joint manager
Ryan Gibbs said he is ‘gutted’ and ‘shocked’ after he was relieved of his duties as Haverhill Rovers manager yesterday and replaced by former boss and player Ben Cowling.
As Gibbs woke up on Tuesday morning, he expected to carry on his preparations for Rovers’ important game on Saturday against fellow strugglers FC Peterborough (3pm). However, at 8.30am, he received a message to inform him and his family that they would no longer continue their roles at the club.
Speaking exclusively to the Haverhill Echo, Gibbs said: “We didn’t really see it coming. When the old chairman – Tony Jordan – left recently, he wanted us to do well and the people who came in all said they wanted us to stay and be a part of the project.
“We had a chat with Ryan [Churcher] (interim chairman) and what was relayed to us was that we were the people that he wanted to move the club forward.”
Churcher felt bringing in former player and manager Cowling would reunite the fans with the club but Gibbs said he didn’t feel there was a disconnect, and stated that he got on with every single fan he spoke to.
When asked if he felt betrayed by the interim hierarchy, Gibbs responded: “A little bit, because another manager has been appointed so quickly and that couldn’t have been done without going behind our backs.”
The 24-year-old, who was only appointed new Rovers player-manager this summer, took charge of their first six games of the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North campaign, winning just once and recording five losses.
In that time, Rovers conceded 18 goals and scored seven – sitting 17th in the early league table.
Coincidently, Gibbs scored in what proved to be his last appearance in the dugout and on the pitch for the club, in a 4-2 defeat away at Diss Town.
“Obviously the results weren’t perfect, but we had played five teams that are going to be in and around the top six,” said Gibbs.
“We had an easier run on paper coming up which we thought we could have done well in. It is a little bit of a shock.
“Apart from the game with Framlingham, we put up a good fight against every single one of our opponents and felt there were always positives to take from them.”
At the beginning of the season, Gibbs and his staff set the goal of winning the First Division North but after the first five games, the target moved to reaching the play-offs. Gibbs believes this is something he ‘could have definitely got.’
Taking the reigns at Rovers was Gibbs’ first managerial job, and Gibbs said: “I don’t think I was too in-experienced.
“I’ve played at this level since I was 15, so I’ve got a good understanding of what wins you games and what it takes to get a team to the top of this league.
“I’ve also got an understanding of what a team would be like at the bottom and we definitely weren’t a team like that.”
His successor at The New Croft, Cowling, has made over 300 appearances for Rovers and managed the side between May 2016 and November 2017, in his first spell in the dugout.
