I think in any managerial tenure there is a point where everybody gets a little sick of one another. Without doubt, I think this happened here and I don’t think Gary Rowett was at all disappointed to be let go.
He came in with the club really struggling in the Championship and delivered the one and only aim, safety. The issue was always going to be the second season and whether the pragmatic style that had seen a limited squad secure survival could develop into a more exciting blend over the summer. It is safe to say that didn’t happen.
He wasn’t helped by a shambolic pre-season where an Indonesian tour (we are owned by an Indonesian) resulted in a lack of time on the grass and, ironically, a serious injury to our Indonesian international who was the headline act of the whole tour.
We stated the season slowly as a result, the recruitment was hit and miss and by the end, Rowett’s take was very much ‘back me or sack me’. I suspect there was a difference in opinion when it came to recruitment with Rowett favouring more experienced campaigners and the club wanting to return to investing in talented younger players and all that resulted in Rowett not seeing the January window.