Adshead quits

Knights' bad run continues as Adshead quits
April 10, 2006 - 6:26PM

The troubles of A-League wooden spooner New Zealand Knights continued today with the resignation of manager John Adshead.

The man who took New Zealand to the World Cup in 1982 is retiring from football for personal reasons, the club announced today.

Knights chairman Anthony Lee said the decision "came out of the blue" and the club stood by comments months ago backing Adshead to lead the team into next season.

Englishman Adshead was diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago but was cleared of the illness earlier this year.

"In all situations there is always a right time to retire from football, the key is recognising that time," he said in a statement.

"After considering all relevant factors to me, the club and my family my time is now."

The Knights had a horror first season in the A-League, winning just one game and losing 17 to finish last by a long distance.

Key players including captain Danny Hay left the team mid-season amid reports of team members losing confidence in the management.

Adshead said during competition the club had made mistakes in recruiting ahead of the inaugural season but vowed to stay on and put things right.

"It's John that has decided to walk away," Knights chief executive Steve O'Hara said today.

"John has made a massive decision for someone who's been involved with football for so long," O'Hara said.

O'Hara said health may have been a factor in Adshead's decision as his battle with cancer had "obviously taken its toll".

"He certainly doesn't want to have any further detrimental effect on his health."

Lee said Adshead maintained his composure with dignity and honesty during a difficult season.

"Through all of this he has coped with a very personal issue in a public environment and again never complained or made a fuss," he said.

Head coach Paul Nevin has been appointed caretaker manager.

The Knights' chances for the 2006-07 season suffered a fresh blow last month when they lost All Whites national team members Jeremy Christie and Jeremy Brockie to Australian clubs.

The club in the past month has recruited Newcastle Jets midfielder Richard Johnson, Australian goalkeeper Michael Turnbull and former Scottish international Scot Gemmill.

Hmm probably for the best, there has been a lot of problems during his reign and I think he is not entirely devoid of blame for them.

Will be interesting to see who gets the nod for this job, I heard Sven Ericksons available!

Yeah I tend to agree although it's always a shame when poor health gets in the way and I wish him all the best.

Awkward timing as they've just signed two players who were set to be key players, and who between them probably eat up quite a lot of the salary cap - they need to make sure the new manager also sees them in that light, which makes me think Nevin may get it full-time.