New manager must strengthen squad, while getting the best out of current team members

THE most recent chapter in the history of Sligo Rovers came to a close last week when an ‘ amicable’ decision between the club and former manager Dave Robertson saw an end the Londoner’s 507 day reign at the Showgrounds.

With a total win rate in all competitions of just under 35 percent from his 43 competitive games in charge, Robertson’s tenure began with just four points collected from his first seven games in 2016 and finished with a similarly disappointing start to his second season with five points taken from the same amount of games.

It must have been a horrible situation for those who had to make the decision but it was without doubt the correct one.

Soundings from the dressing room suggested publicly, that it was a panic decision from the management committee and that Dave would have turned the situation around given time. The clues point to the opposite.

To be fair to Dave he did well to guide the club to a fifth placed Premier Division finish last term but this was long after the cracks that led to his eventual dismissal began to show.

There were unexpected results. Just more negative than positive ones. Last August’s win at Turner’s Cross and the victory over Shams at the Showgrounds just four days later showed the capacity that the squad had.

While inflicting upon Stephen Kenny his heaviest defeat at Oriel Park since his appointment was a special day.

But that was about it. He struggled to take points from the weaker sides and a lot of this came from his unwillingness to adjust tactically both going into games and during them.

The diamond was his style for the majority of 2015 and it that became the status quo much to the profit of other managers.

Rovers were an easy book to read with last June’s 3- 0 defeat in Ballybofey and both 4- 0 defeats at the Carlisle Grounds symptomatic of this.

The cup exit to Wexford in August was down to a shockingly bad team performance which culminated in a late individual mistake but using a busy schedule as an excuse for losing that game as Robertson did, didn’t wash considering we had played just four competitive games across the months of June and July.

There was cause for a certain amount of optimism come last October.

He had assembled the nucleus of a team capable of challenging for a European spot the following year.

However the loss of Gavin Peers and previously Tim Clancy left a lack of experience both at the back and in the squad as a whole.

Last season’s capture of Micheál Schlingermann, Tobi Adebayo- Rowling and Kieran Sadlier were great signings on Dave’s behalf while Achille Campion’s physical presence was the required tonic when he arrived last Autumn for his sojourn in Sligo.

However, his failure to land a steady hand at the back and an experienced goal- scorer was highlighted throughout Robertson’s final games at the helm. Both Mick Leahy and Kyle Callan- McFadden stood up to the plate on Saturday against Bohs.

But that steady and calming voice was missing for those opening ties as a haphazard Rovers rearguard shipped 18 goals in their first seven.

Up front there is a player in Jonah Ayunga who is beginning to impose himself and must continue to do so.

We’ve witnessed barely 90 minutes of football from Mathew Stevens while it’s yet to be seen whether we can rely on the evergreen Raff Cretaro to come up with the goods yet again.

The lack of depth was there to see on Saturday when interim boss Declan McIntyre was forced to name four U19 players on the bench with both Regan Donelon and Daniel Kearns sidelined through injury.

The club will soon announce their seventh full- time manager in eleven seasons and I would expect him to again be British and again be from slightly left of field.

What’s required is a figure who can get our key players firing whilst squeeze the best out of what the rest of the squad have to offer until the opportunity to add faces arrives.

The squad will without doubt need to be strengthened and finances pending two if not three players of reasonable experience and calibre are required so contacts in the UK will be vital.