It has been another difficult period at Bristol Rovers, and it was with regret that I was forced to take the difficult decision to remove Mark McGhee from his duties following the defeat at York on Saturday. As I said on Monday, this decision was reached after taking account of the recent poor performances and our current league position. I felt that it was important to take decisive steps to remedy the current situation, especially with the January transfer window just around the corner. I wanted to have someone in place in plenty of time to evaluate the current squad and see where changes and additions need to be made. There will be scope to make changes in January, and we hope to bring in several players who can help us to start climbing the table. I would like to thank Mark for all his hard work during his time with Rovers, he was the consummate professional but unfortunately it did not work out, and we wish him every success in the future. On a brighter note, we are delighted to welcome John Ward back to the club for his second spell as manager of Bristol Rovers. John is a brilliant man, and I believe he embodies the old ânever say dieâ Bristol Rovers spirit that we need to see make a return to the Memorial Stadium. John is a Bristol Rovers man, and holds the club close to his heart, and we decided he would be the perfect man to try and help us maintain our Football League status. As well as his fantastic attitude and affinity with the club, he is also very experienced at this level so clearly has a lot to offer us. We believe, under John Wardâs guidance, we will return the pride to our club which has clearly been lacking on the pitch for the past few years, and to this end, I ask the players, staff and fans to unite behind John and help him take us forward. Today John will take his first game as manager , and we also have a number of ticket offers for the game, with prices slashed across the ground. John has emphasised how important it is to all pull together during this tough time, so I would encourage as many of you as possible to help us try to recapture that old Bristol Rovers passion and spirit. Finally I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very, Merry Christmas. It has been a difficult year to be a Gashead, but I hope we can make your Christmas extra special by picking up a sackful of points.
I'm not rubbishing John Ward because I like him, and think you will be mid table come the end of the season. But to say he is a Bristol Rovers man is complete bollocks. He got sacked from Rovers and then also managed City. Along with various other clubs after. And am I in a time warp or something ain't you playing tomorrow? So what's he on about today! Chairmen talk rubbish trying to please fans.
I would suggest a lot of the issues at the club at present have to sit at the door of the chairman and his board.
I thought he got sacked by you lot as well as us, I really liked him and didn't like the way we treated him
In total agreement with you on this Red, It makes me chuckle and there will be plenty of us who get caught up in this nonsense talk, thats football for you, all that said the job in hand required somebody who on the face of it fits that criteria, JW was probably the one, I also have alot of time for the man.
My memory is that Ward's contract was coming to an end. The board had a new one ready but Ward played for time as he was angling after a job at Luton/Watford? The board got fed up with the situation and pulled the plug. Sad day !
