Paul Dickov resigns after Oldham lose eight from nine

Published on 04/02/2013 02:26

Paul Dickov has resigned as manager of Oldham Athletic after Saturday’s 3-1 npower League One defeat by Walsall, and just seven days after masterming a famous FA Cup victory over Liverpool.

The 40-year-old former Scotland international has been under pressure at Boundary Park for some time following poor form, but earned a stay of execution after the win over Liverpool last Sunday.

However, eight defeats out of nine games in League One have left the Latics hovering above the relegation zone and Dickov has decided to quit after two and a half years in the job.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “After yesterday’s defeat to Walsall, Paul Dickov has decided that for the good of Oldham Athletic Football Club, it is best that he steps aside.”

Oldham chairman Simon Corney spoke with Dickov yesterday morning, and before those talks opened said he and the manager would “need to get a plan together and work something out, and figure out whether or not together we can handle this”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme, Corney expressed sympathy for Dickov. He said: “It is not down to a lack of hard work. He has been working very hard and I think the players have to shoulder a huge amount of responsibility.

“I have been at too many games now where we just haven’t performed. When they put in a performance like they did against Liverpool, you know they have the talent and ability, and yet in the day-to-day, bread-and-butter games, they are not showing what they need to show week in and week out.

“I feel for Paul, I really do, because he trains them hard, he works hard and does a lot of things to prepare the team, and once they cross that line, what can he do?

“It is a horrible situation. I’d like to think I will never have another manager who is a friend of mine again, because it is horrible. When I met with Paul for the very first time, I said to him, ‘You know this can only end horribly, because either you will leave me because you are doing pretty well, or I am going to fire you’, and that is the case with nearly every club.

“It is a horrible situation, but I can’t let anything like that cloud my judgement because I have to do what is best for the club.”

Dickov had been in charge since June 2010 and under his charge Oldham won 43 of 141 games.

l Notts County have sacked manager Keith Curle after less than a year in charge. The Magpies sit tenth in npower League One, but lost to rock-bottom Hartlepool on Saturday and have won just two of their last 11 games in all competitions.

Members of Curle’s backroom staff, Colin Lee and Colin West, have also lost their jobs. Chairman Ray Trew said in a club statement: “This obviously is not a decision that we have taken lightly and certainly not one that I have taken any pleasure in reaching, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Keith Curle both as a man and a manager.”