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Troy Deeney has insisted ‘hard words needed to be spoken’ at Forest Green Rovers as he defended his six match spell in charge of the League Two strugglers.
Deeney was sacked on Thursday having by Forest Green owner Dale Vince, ending the former Watford striker’s first foray into management.
His dismal came hours after Vince had criticised Deeney’s tough-love approach with his squad, telling Mail Sport in an exclusive interview that he had made ‘a mistake’.
Deeney’s final tirade came after a 2-0 loss to Harrogate Town last week, where he claimed there were ‘too many babies’ in his squad and that he needed to ‘get the sledgehammers out’ to improve performances.
On top of that, Deeney was banned for four matches after being sent off in a 2-1 loss to Swindon that saw him use ‘abusive language’ towards referee Scott Simpson.
Deeney, writing in The Sun, defended his managerial reign claiming that his tough-love approach was needed and blamed Forest Green’s struggles on their high turnover of managers.
‘When you’re taking over a club in the middle of a season and it is rock bottom of the league you can’t take your time and go easy,’ Deeney wrote.
‘Hard words needed to be spoken and I felt that we were about to turn a corner with results.
‘Was I the problem? Or is it the club that is about to appoint its ninth manager in less than three years?
‘I was expected to turn around the fortunes of a failing club in less than a month. ‘I hadn’t even received my first payslip as a manager when they told me they were getting rid of me.’
Deeney insisted that his harsh words had ‘raised standards’ in the squad but acknowledged airing his criticism of players publicly was a ‘mistake’.
The 35-year-old said he had learned a lesson and wants to return to management in the future.
Deeney failed to lead the club to a win in his six matches in charge, leaving the club bottom of League Two and seven points from safety.
Forest Green owner Vince had admitted that performances had improved under Deeney, despite the club staring at the prospect of back-to-back relegations.
Vince told Mail Sport that Deeney’s harsh words had made him realise ‘this wasn’t going to work’.
They included saying his players were not good enough and needed to be replaced – before an attack on ex-Coventry man Fankaty Dabo, who he said was ‘a kick away from the Premier League, now he’s not good enough or National League’.
‘He is outspoken and opinionated – there’s not much wrong with that. I think when he looks back at it, I think he’ll agree with me. I think he let himself and the club down with his sending off and what he said about our players,’ Vince said.
‘I was a bit shocked that such things could be said about our players in public and our club. It was just careless – it was poor judgment. He’s new to the coaching game. When we appointed him we acknowledged it was sooner than expected. I think it was too soon for Troy and hasn’t worked out on both sides.
‘The results were different story. Our actual performances this season under Troy have been better than anything this season in terms of numbers and statistics. It was a culmination of things.
‘I have no axe to grind. I just decided that this wasn’t going to work and it was better to make the decision sooner. I wish him well for the future and genuinely have nothing against him. We tried but it didn’t work and it wasn’t going to work.’
Forest Green began the season by appointing Hannah Dingley as the first female manager to lead a men’s club in England before David Horseman replaced her two weeks later.
Horseman himself left the club five months later after a set of poor results, leading to Deeney’s appointment on December 20.
Forest Green begin life without Deeney by travelling to play-off chasing Gillingham on Saturday.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
