Following a run of 3 months without a victory Derby County Ladies FC mutually parted company with First Team Manager, Jenny Sugarman earlier this week ahead of the weekends crunch local derby with Nottingham Forest. Whilst the decision was not taken lightly it’s one that Chief Executive Duncan Gibb feels was necessary.

“ Nobody could have worked any harder than Jenny in making this work and she was a popular figure in the changing room, however the whole dynamics of the club have changed over the past year and in keeping with that so have the expectations. It’s no secret that the clubs long term aim is to take that next step and bring Womens Super League football to the city and we have been tirelessly working towards that goal on a number of fronts. As you’d expect progress on the pitch is a key element within that and after last season’s 7th place Premier League finish we sat down with Jen in the summer and agreed to aim for a top four finish, however at the back of our minds we had a fall back position of 6th or better, given that this would still have represented forward progress “

We invested considerable financial resources into allowing Jenny and the group to commence pre-season training early and to attend the national centre at Lilleshall, however after an encouraging start to the season injuries certainly didn’t help Jen’s cause and as such she and I sat down at the start of last month and discussed some short term targets. Unfortunately these weren’t achieved and the side has slid from top spot to one place and one point above the relegation zone. As such we sat down and agreed that a clean break was probably best all round. I personally believe that Jenny still has a bright future within the game and the manner in which we went our separate ways was an absolute credit to her “

Going forwards we believe that immediate familiarity and fresh impetus with the group is needed and as we have therefore promoted Reserve Team Manager, Ash Abbey and U16’s Manager, Jack White to Interim Joint Managers working alongside long term assistant Jenny Simpson. Both know the club inside out, are familiar with the senior group and have enjoyed superb seasons with their respective sides. As such they come in with a winning mentality and don’t need time that we haven’t really got to get to know the group. As with Jen, they have been given clear expectation targets and if they meet those then they have every chance of securing the role on a more permanent basis when we come to look at that.