BOUNCING BACK
Axed on the eve of the play-offs, Ady Pennock explains his Forest Green exit
IT WASN’T exactly the big Wembley entrance he had planned two weeks before. Slamming shut the door to his Peugeot 508 which he had just left in a north west London side street near the stadium, he hands £20 to a bloke with a clipboard who looks like he would rather be anywhere else.
You could hardly blame Ady Pennock for wallowing in a similar couldn’t-care-less attitude, the national stadium and the National League promotion final the last place you would expect to see him on May 15. Not after what had just happened.
Forest Green Rovers like to be a bit different. Employing a robot to cut their pitch and force feeding everyone a vegan menu are purely an unpalatable side dish.
On April 27, the club’s owner decided to part company with his manager. Not an uncommon practice at that time of the year with clubs taking early decisive action so the new boss can get a head start. A whole summer to plan.
Only problem is, the boss they booted out had taken the club to second place – its highest ever finish – and a few days later they were about to contest the playoffs.
Pennock was sacked on a hunch. Exact quote. No dressing room revolt, no concerns about ability to do the job. Even if you looked for it, there was no fall out.
Owner Dale Vince hadn’t even been stewing on it. Ten minutes after it entered his mind that a change was needed, he picked up his mobile phone and delivered the bad news.
Approach
“Of course I was shocked, we had made outstanding progress in the two-and-a-half seasons I had been there,” said Pennock, talking for the first time since his controversial sacking.
“I was disappointed but I honestly am a believer in things happening for a reason. I couldn’t see the phone call coming. The owner said he acted on a hunch that, with me in charge, we wouldn’t win the play-offs.
“I was very confident that we would.We had a plan in place, we were ready. The lack of wins before the phone call came were the result of a decision we made after it became clear we weren’t going to win the league and Cheltenham were.
“It was to sacrifice form for a fresh squad and really be ready. We treated the period before the play-offs when it became clear first place was beyond us like a mini pre-season.
“I was backed by the board, Dale was all for it and the players agreed that it was a good approach.The results tailed off, it was always a possibility, but I believed in the idea that having a healthy and fit squad would send us up. As much as I had a great relationship with the owner aside from that phone call, I didn’t get the chance to prove it.”
He turned up at Wembley to support his old players after Rovers negotiated the two semifinals with Dover Athletic under Scott Bartlett.
Head held high, not everyone would have the class to turn up and give his ex-team a cheer. Think divorce, and your ex is having a rather loud and extravagant engagement party. And you’ve decided to pop your head around the door and wish them all the best. “It was actually OK, I was pleased I went – absolutely no regrets from my point of view,” added Pennock, the former Welling manager who accepted the Rovers job in November 2013 after spending six years as Tony Pulis’ head coach at Stoke City. “I felt I had to be there and show my support. The fans there are fantastic as well. I didn’t get to say goodbye to them and that was hard. At least I got that chance. “I was gutted for them that Grimsby won the game, although thrilled at the same time for Paul Hurst their manager. He works very hard and he’s one of the good guys. It was their time but I felt for the Forest Green boys as I know how much they put into this season.”
Ruthless
A snatch two-minute phone conversation that turned his life upside down took less time than was needed for Pennock to tap out a heart-felt message to his players hours before.
Having sent Cheltenham manager Gary Johnson a bottle of champaign, Pennock sent a text to his entire squad, exactly a week before their first leg semi with Dover, with the goal to inspire.
‘We’ve made history this season but that’s not going to stop,’ it read. ‘The second leg, if we win it, will be the best feeling you have ever had.
‘The dream to walk out at Wembley, the home of football is not a dream for us anymore. It could happen – it will happen. Boys I am very proud of you,’ the message continued. ‘I am desperate for you to achieve the ultimate goal’.
Three hours after mobile phones across Gloucestershire began to beep, Pennock was gone.
Hunch or no hunch, you can’t escape the fact that Vince refused to pull the trigger on close friend Dave Hockaday despite a sizeable budget and finishes of tenth, tenth, tenth and 16th.
When he eventually did, Pennock last season guided Rovers – having successfully halved the sizeable budget – to the play-offs, before losing out to now-League One Bristol Rovers. This time, even second place couldn’t cut it.
“It’s football, it’s ruthless,” he adds. “But it’s not put me off wanting another job!
“I’m still so hungry for it, I’m willing to start tomorrow or play the waiting game if needed.
“My assistant Jamie Day has got himself a great job at Braintree. He is a fantastic man. He, Glynn Jones and Neil Withington, our coaches, refused to stay when I was sacked. They have wives and children to support but those three show there is some loyalty in football.
“I think Mark Cooper will do a great job at Forest Green and I would like to take the opportunity to wish him and the club well. It’s not how I wanted last season to end but I broke eight club records and I’m proud of my time there. On to the next challenge.”