Gray sings Penney's praises

"He is a fantastic man" As Athletic step up their search for a successor to recently deposed manager Dave Penney (pictured) his number two Martin Gray has expressed his shock at his former boss' departure. Gray has applied for the job and he blames the exit on the players for not performing to the best of their abilities. He commented, “When Dave first came in he was told to keep the club in this league. That was the statement made from boardroom level, I am led to believe. It has been such a shock what has come about. Regarding that, the manager did his job. Yes, we wanted to have a better season and not just keep the club up but push it forward. There have been a lot of distractions along the way and we have had a lot of long-term injuries to key players. That never helps any team and you need a bit of luck in that respect."“He is a man whom I respect very highly and worked with for three years. He is a fantastic man. People have opinions but for me, he was a fantastic manager to work for and a fantastic boss. We didn’t see any signs and you usually do see the signs. So it was a massive shock to everybody and the players, too. I think a lot of the players feel that they maybe haven’t stepped up to the mark. Some of the players the manager brought in have, for me, let him down. That’s my opinion and the players know it. There are players like Sean Gregan and Reuben Hazell, who have been outstanding. With the CV Dave has got, it stands up against most managers at this level of football. So I am sure he will be back in work very soon.”

Source: FOOTYMAD