Dunn questions Warrington Town's ambition (From Warrington Guardian)

Former manager believes club's board have 'derailed' Town's promotion push

12:45pm Thursday 29th March 2012 in Latest news By Christopher Terris Taylor

FORMER manager Joey Dunn has questioned Warrington Town’s ambition of being promoted from the Evo-Stik Division One North after the board sacked him in the middle of their late play-off push.

Town were making a bid for the play-off positions after picking up 28 points from 15 games in 2012, only for the club’s board to axe Dunn with six weeks of the season remaining after stating they were ‘making changes to the footballing structure in order to push the club forward’.

Dunn said: “On the pitch, I felt we were taking the club forward, but behind the scenes I don’t think the infrastructure had the ability to support that.

“I’ll leave it for others to make their mind up, but the guarantee with the decision that they took was that we would not get promoted.

“That was the absolute cast-iron guarantee, that they would de-rail the promotion push.

“It would mean players would leave and all the work we have put in over the season to get promoted would be demolished.”

But Town’s hierarchy dismiss the idea that they have given up on their ambitions of promotion, with the club’s chief executive Richard Sutton believing that the appointment of new manager Shaun Reid and his assistant Lee Smith from Evo-Stik Divison One North rivals Prescot Cables is an indication of what the club hopes to achieve in forthcoming seasons.

“We have a goal at this club to reach the Football League,” he said.

“That will happen, and from here on in every major decision at this football club will be made with that end game in mind. “We have appointed a manager with vast experience of playing and coaching at a number of established Football League clubs.

“I would now ask the supporters and everybody else in the town to get behind the team as I'm sure they and Shaun will now be concentrating on trying to win the remaining football games.”

“While we are nine points off the play-offs as it stands, it is not impossible that we can still get in the shake up.”

But that task was made all the more difficult with the news that the Yellows have lost six first-team players since the departure of Dunn, with Mike Duffy and Tom Hardwick moving to Skemersdale, Gavin Salmon back at Salford, Allan Collins to Colwyn Bay, River Humphreys to AFC Liverpool and Matty Cross snapped up by Witton Albion.

Most left as an act of loyalty to their former manager and as a result the remaining players had a tough task on their hands when battling to a 2-1 defeat at Bamber Bridge on Saturday.

Sutton has accepted that the removal of Dunn would inevitably lead to a change in the playing staff.

“It was a difficult decision to replace Joey as we knew he was a popular figure in the dressing room,” he said.

“The team went into last Saturday’s game six points off the playoffs and gave their absolute all when losing narrowly to Bamber Bridge.

“I would like to thank those players for what was a heroic effort in difficult circumstances, after a number of other players had decided to leave the club during the run up to the game.

“We respected the decision of those players who wanted to leave and now it’s time to move on.”