LIAM Watson says he sacked himself after Southport fell to an 11th consecutive defeat in National League North.
The Sandgrounders finished last season on a wretched run of eight straight losses and evaded relegation by a single point.
Watson, also a director of the club, made several signings during the summer in a bid to reverse the decline, but Tuesday’s 5-1 defeat at Spennymoor marked Southport’s third reverse in as many games, with 12 goals shipped in the process.
Within 24 hours, chairman Ian Kyle announced that Watson would be moving upstairs to focus on his boardroom duties, ending his five-year second spell in the dugout.
Healthy
“I spoke to Ian on Wednesday,” explained Watson, who has managed over 600 games across three lengthy spells at Southport.
“I said to him ‘Look, if we were having a board meeting between us as directors, then realistically we’d be saying that we need to change the manager because it needs a bit of freshness’. So I effectively sacked myself.
“But it’s not a decision where I’m feeling sad or emotional. It’s the right decision, taken by two directors who want the best for the football club.”
Watson says that Southport are in good shape, but that last season’s nightmare run-in made change imperative.
“The last three years, the infrastructure has changed drastically,” he said. “It’s a very healthy place now. The academy is starting to prosper, the community work is good, the pitch and the stadium are great. I think we’ve made good signings, they just need time to bed in.
“But the back end of last season was very poor. We didn’t have what we should have had in terms of players. The squad was weak. We had injuries.
Decision
“When you finish like that, you have to start well or it’s ‘Oh no, here we go again’. That’s been brewing on my mind for a while and I couldn’t let it spiral. I’m very happy with the decision we’ve made.”
Player-coach David Morgan and assistant boss Andy Burgess have taken temporary charge, with the hunt for a new manager underway.
A statement released by the club suggested Watson would lead the search, but the 53-yearold says Kyle will make the final decision.
“Ultimately that will be Ian’s decision – he’s the one who’ll have to work with the manager on a daily basis,” said Watson, who is not ruling out a return to management at some stage.
“I’ll be happy to give an opinion, but he’ll know the right way to go. I just hope the lads can perform for Andy and Morgs until they appoint someone, then they can crack on and let me enjoy Southport doing well from the stand!”
