Peterhead chairman Rodger Morrison admitted a series of “embarrassing results” left him with no option but to part company with manager David Robertson.
The Blue Toon confirmed the departure of Robertson on Tuesday afternoon less than four months after taking charge at Balmoor.
A heavy 7-0 defeat by Airdrieonians at the weekend proved the final straw with Robertson dismissed with a record of one win, two draws and nine defeats from 12 league games.
It was Robertson’s first job since a five-year stint at Indian side Real Kashmir. He had previously had spells in charge of Elgin, Montrose and Phoenix FC.
Club captain Ryan Strachan and midfielder Jordon Brown have been placed in charge of the team for this weekend’s visit of Alloa.
The Balmoor side sit bottom of League One with 12 points from 28 games – three points behind Clyde but with a game in hand.
Morrison said: “Unfortunately it just didn’t work out.
“We did extend the budget to try to keep us up.
“It just hasn’t worked and I haven’t seen any light at the end of the tunnel.
“The last few results have been embarrassing for the club and we have seen the reaction from the fans.
“There was a feeling we looked resigned to going into League Two whereas we really want to make a fight of it to stay in the league.
“There is an outside chance we can do that.
“I wished him well but we just didn’t see any improvement going forward.”
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A tough act to follow
Morrison admitted it was difficult for Robertson to follow long-serving manager Jim McInally who left the club in November after 11 years in the dugout.
He said: “It was a bit of a poisoned chalice because although it was a poor season under Jim, a good manager doesn’t become a bad manager.
“A lot of it was down to losing so many good players from the previous season and really not finding the ones we wanted for this season.
“It has been a poor season overall but normally with a new appointment you get a bit of a bounce.
“There has been no bounce and the new signings he has taken in with the extended budget haven’t worked at all.”
Blue Toon assessing options
Morrison says the Peterhead board have already started looking at their next options.
He said: “We have already got our thinking hats on so we will take it from there.
“Right now, we don’t want to be manager-less.
“We don’t want to jump in. I’m not saying we won’t get a stop-gap manager.
“It is too early to say.
“If we can finish above Clyde we can get into a play-off position.
“There is still a bit of hope, I’m not resigned to us going down.
“We want to stay up – even though it has been a disastrous season.
“We will look to rebuild for next season.”
Morrison thanked Robertson for his efforts at the club and was disappointed the move didn’t work out for the 54-year-old.
He added: “I think he was quite pragmatic.
“I think, in his defence, he found it hard as well, maybe following in Jim’s footsteps.
“Jim had been there for so long and we’d had a lot of success over that long period.
“It was a difficult position to come into and I’m sure he felt that as well.”
The Peterhead statement confirming Robertson’s departure read: “Peterhead Football Club can confirm that today we have parted company with first team manager David Robertson and his management team.
“Unfortunately results have been disappointing and the club felt that a parting of the ways would be in the best interests of Peterhead FC.
“We would like to go on record to thank David for his contribution to the club and he leaves with our best wishes.
“For this weekend’s match against Alloa Athletic, club captain Ryan Strachan along with Jordon Brown will assume the role of joint caretaker manager.”
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