The Milton Keynes Dons have parted company with manager Stuart Murdoch following a string of poor performances. The annnouncement from the club comes after Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Bristol City which left the Dons one off the bottom of League One. Assistant Manager Jimmy Gilligan has taken temporary charge, assisted by player-coach Steve Palmer. A statement form the MK Dons read: "Following a meeting between the chairman and Stuart Murdoch it has been decided that Stuart be relieved of his position as first team manager with immediate effect." The Chairman of Milton Keynes Dons, Pete Winkelman, thanked the former manager for all that he had done for the club during a difficult time. "This has been one of the most difficult parts of the adventure to bring football to Milton Keynes so far" he said on the Club's official Web site. "I would like to put on public record my sincere thanks for Stuart's tireless efforts, commitment and professionalism in helping to secure the future of Milton Keynes Dons FC." Murdoch was formerly goalkeeping coach before succeeding Terry Burton as manager in April 2002. The Dons finished 10th under him in 2001-02 but awere relegated to League Two last season. Speculation about the manager's departure had been rife all morning. The club's chief executive John Cove told BBC Three Counties Milton Keynes Breakfast programme that no one had been happy with the team's performance so far this season: "I don't think anybody would be satisfied with the position of the club not least ourselves, not least Stuart and not least the players and certainly not the fans" he said. "What we've always said we'd do in Milton Keynes is seek to make the right footballing decisions. And this is a big footballing decision at the moment." Meanwhile, Paul Wright, chair of the MK Dons Supporters Association said that Murdoch has had enough time to prove himself: "I think we've given him the benfit of the doubt for the first few games of the season" he said. "Because of last year he was restricted and he did have his hands tied but now he's more or less got freedom. "He can't go out and buy a Ronaldo or anything but he's got the freedom to use the team he's got and it's just not working." |
