This sacking is so silly not even Roman Abramovich would do it

Clubs rarely cover themselves in glory when sacking popular managers but the manner in which Southend United have patronised Paul Sturrock is appalling.

Chairman Ron Martin terminated Sturrock’s contract and this week replaced him with Phil Brown. Except it isn’t that simple.

Putting aside the initially questionable decision to remove Sturrock — Southend have won only two of their last 11 games but still sit just six points outside the play-offs with a game in hand on several rivals around them — it is far from a clean break.

In what is a bizarre show of sentimentality, Sturrock (who has been sacked, remember) will take charge of Southend one more time: the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final at Wembley against Crewe next month.

What a mess. If reaching the club’s first final at Wembley since 1930 (their Football League Trophy finals in 2003 and 2004 took place at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium) was really an achievement valued that highly, then why sack him at all?

The answer is that the club prioritised promotion above all else, which is understandable, even if it was outlined by Martin in the most amateur club statement of recent times. Resembling a child’s powerpoint presentation, Martin claimed the cumulative failure to beat Accrington, Barnet, Wimbledon, Plymouth and Torquay is the reason Southend sit outside the top seven.