Chester chief executive says sacking McCarthy was done with ‘a heavy heart’

By Matt Bishop
Chester FC chief executive Mark Maguire has spoken of how difficult it was to sack former manager Jon McCarthy after Tuesday’s defeat to Solihull Moors.
The 2-0 reverse at Damson Park was the final nail in the coffin for McCarthy as the Blues languish fourth bottom in the National League, having taken seven points from the last 42 and without a win at home since December last year.
While that disastrous form was enough to convince Maquire that sacking the manager was the correct decision, the chief executive says it was done with a “very heavy heart.”
“You get to a tipping point in football,” Maguire told The Chester Chronicle, “where as much as you want something to succeed, you have to come to the conclusion that it’s not working, so with a very heavy heart we made a decision that the time had come to make a change.
“It is never nice and this is harder than most situations like this because you are dealing with a thoroughly decent man who has put his heart and soul into a football club which he was genuinely committed to. However correct the decision, it was a really tough day.
“There were a lot of tears around the place from staff and volunteers who were very sorry to see a gentleman go.”
All attention at Chester is now on who will be the person to replace the departing McCarthy and turnaround the club’s shocking start to the campaign.
A host of names have been linked with the vacant role, which will surely be an attractive challenge for many candidates, with former Tranmere boss Gary Brabin the bookies favourite for the job.
The likes of Ronnie Moore, Justin Edinburgh and Richard Money have also been linked, but with an appointment not close yet, Tom Shaw, Dave Felgate and Calum McIntyre will be in charge of the Blues when they host Ebbsfleet on Saturday.