JOHN Fieldhouse says his departure from Woolston Rovers “has been coming” as the club begin the process of appointing a new coach.

Former Warrington Wolves forward Fieldhouse quit his role at Monks Sports Club after their win over Gateshead Storm on April 28, bringing his second spell at the club to an end.

In their win on Tyneside, Rovers travelled with just 14 players and lost one to injury early on, which Fieldhouse said was the final straw.

“I think this has been coming from last season, to be truthful,” he said.

“We had more than 50 signed on but we only had around 13 that were fully committed to training and travel.

“Last Saturday, we went to Gateshead with 14. One of the guys got a serious injury after 15 minutes so we had to take him off.

“We played with 13 for 65 minutes, won the game, but we had three lads injured who couldn’t come off.

“I don’t want to be put in the position to make players play with injuries. I just thought it wasn’t good enough.

“For some reason, there is a bit of a divide in the club.

“The second team seem to have decided they are going to have a squad of 20-25 players and rotate them.

“It’s unfortunate, but I don’t want to be in that situation.”

Rovers released a statement saying that Mal Holt, Fieldhouse’s assistant, A team coach Andy Penny and under 18s coach John Morris will take the team forward in the interim until a new coach is appointed.

“This was John’s second spell at the club and the professional attitude along with the dedication to his role was unquestionable,” the statement read.

“We will now move forward and consider our options but will not rush into making an appointment.

“We need to make the right one that will benefit the club and enable us to build on the job that John has done.

“We are extremely grateful for everything that John did for us and we wish him all the very best for the future.”

Fieldhouse leaves Rovers fifth in the National Conference League Division Three.

Their first game without him will be on Saturday, May 19, when they travel to Clock Face Miners.