Eastbourne Borough staff ‘devastated’ at manager's sacking… ‘injuries killed us’ says Beard

The final whistle had barely blown on a 0-4 home defeat for the Sports to Worthing on New Year’s Day, before the club’s owners had bitten the bullet and parted company with manager Mark Beard.

By Wednesday morning, senior professional and club captain Brad Barry had been installed as Interim Manager. But fast forward another 24 hours and things had moved on again – with Adam Murray named as Beard’s successor.

The first assignment for the new boss is a mere 400-mile round trip to Torquay United on Saturday to take on the promotion-hungry Seagulls. And then next Tuesday (Jan 9) the Sports entertain Hastings United at the Lane in a cracker of a Sussex Senior Cup quarter-final.

Beard departed with his Borough side six points adrift of safety in National South, and an urgent repair job is needed on a dispirited and patched-up playing squad – if Simon Leslie’s project is not to be derailed by relegation.

Speaking to the Herald within 24 hours of the decision to replace him, he was still coming to terms with it all. “Of course I am enormously disappointed. We know that in football clubs, it’s all about results, and the buck stops with the manager. I have given everything and tried everything, but we are where we are.

Was there actually unwelcome pressure, with talk of winning the league? “That particular pressure didn’t concern me. Every club starts a season in optimism. But it’s fair to say that the summer schedule was very tight. We were still putting the squad together only a couple of weeks before the opening game.

“The switch from part-time to full-time was always going to be a huge challenge. There are very good players out there who would not want to give up their day jobs and professions, for what if effect would be little financial gain. We did put together a bright young squad and I was looking forward to developing them.

“But the injuries absolutely killed us. In my professional career, playing, coaching, managing, I have never encountered anything like the plight we were in. Eight or ten players out injured, and no chance of developing the team that I envisaged, aor playing to the standards we needed.”

Beard the manager may have departed, but Borough CEO Alan Williams was quick to give full credit to Beard the man. “Mark is an exceptional character as well as an exceptional coach. We had a meeting on Tuesday with all the non-football staff, from the events team to the bar manager to the cleaners. Everyone was devastated, because Mark came in here every morning and shook everyone’s hand and paid everyone the best compliments that he could. He was respected massively by everybody.”

Hopes were high at the start of the season but Williams has a view on that. “Hopes and realistic plans can be two different things. There was a lot of noise made in the summer when Simon bought the club. We’ve done an awful lot since then: the infrastructure, the rise in gates, the commercial arm, our relationships within the town, improvements to the stadium.

“On the football pitch it hasn’t quite panned out just yet. We’ve had extremely busy phones and emails, with people throwing their hat into the ring – all wanting to be part of what we’re trying to do here. We will pull together a short list, and start the conversations with those people about the vision they have for this club and what they think they can do to achieve that.”

Ironically – or quite fittingly – January 1 marked the first day at work for Borough’s new Head of Recruitment, Mark Anderson: a phenomenal capture by Simon Leslie of a man who has worked successfully at the very highest level – Liverpool, Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion are on his CV. Mark will be working closely with the owner and with Adam Murray.

It’s not only been a manager moving on. With the New Year’s Eve chimes of Big Ben barely having died away, the club announced the transfer of 18-year-old striker Fletcher Holman to Wolverhampton Wanderers: from non-league to Premier League in one giant leap for a young man with huge potential.

Meanwhile playmaker Jack Paxman has departed the club by mutual agreement as Borough look to recalibrate and move forward. Paxman has moved for personal and family reasons, and his farewell message was notably positive.

“I can assure all the fans that although times are extremely tough right now, the owner’s intentions and plans for this club are nothing but positive,” he said. “I know the future will be bright, so please keep believing. I have nothing but love for everyone at Eastbourne Borough and wish the club the very best.”