Sacked Central FC coach Ross Russell was this week, hired by Sangre Grande outfit North East Stars where he will serve as the head coach.
Roland Clarke, who took over at the helm of the team earlier this season will now revert to his previous position as coach of the team’s academy. Team manager Maurice Eligon said the decision to recruit the 48-year old Russell was made after a board meeting recently.
North East Stars led the Digicel Pro League standings earlier this season but have fallen to sixth on the 10-team table with 13 points after eight matches. They are four points behind leaders Defence Force, who hammered the Sangre Grande club 6-1 on December 19 in their final game before the Christmas break.
Ironically, it was Clarke’s men that accounted for Russell’s firing at Central FC. Central FC management had been heart broken by an early opening goal by North East Stars in an encounter between the teams (Central FC/North East Stars) late last year. In addition, the Sharks stumbled to their second consecutive defeat which confirmed the team’s poor run of form under Russell, a two-time league winning coach with Defence Force.
Central FC operation’s manager KevinHarrison delivered the dismissal letter via a tex and when asked about the sacking he said “It’s a results game, but the decision to fire Russell wasn’t purely down to the two games we lost. It was about the performance of the players…perhaps they weren’t giving him their all.”
He added: “We won seven trophies, four of them major titles last season, and already we have dropped the First Citizens Cup. We couldn’t risk carrying on that way.”
He explained further “It just happens. Sometimes a good coach comes into successful team and it just doesn’t work. We see it happening all the time in world football. We made the change while we still have time. While we want to win everything else on offer, our two major aims now, are to make sure and defend the Pro League as well as the Caribbean Club Championship titles.”
Russell was the third of four coaches by the Central team since their inception three years ago, when he took over last August. He followed in the footsteps of former Arsenal and England player Graham Rix, Serbia-born former T&T coach Zoran Vranes and former Tottenham and England player Terry Fenwick, all of whom received marching orders.
Since Russell’s sacking, assistant coach Dale Saunders has been shifted into the role of interim head coach but the Guardian understands there are no immediate plans to find a high profile replacement.
In Sangre Grande, however, Eligon said the decision to replace Clarke wasn’t based on results or performance. He said with Russell becoming available and the board having reviewed the club’s plans after four months into the season, the change was necessary to take the club forward.
Eligon, who feels his club remains dedicated to giving local coaches the opportunity, said: “At the moment we are comfortable giving Ross a chance at the helm of our club and we will see how things will go.”
North East Stars will return to action today from 8 pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium against San Juan Jabloteh.