Troy Deeney sacked by Forest Green Rovers after just 29 days in charge

Troy Deeney has been sacked as manager by Forest Green Rovers after just six matches and 29 days in the role.

It was Deeney’s first managerial role after he joined the League Two side as a player-coach in the summer before being promoted to the top job following the sacking of Dave Horseman on the 20th of December.

When he took over the role, the club were already at risk of relegation from the football league following a run of just one win in seven matches, and under his tenure Rovers lost three and drew the other three of his games in charge.

However, Deeney faced criticism in the role, including when he publicly called out his players following their 2-0 defeat at home to Harrogate on Saturday.

On Thursday, the former Watford striker was given a four-match touchline ban by the Football Association for language that was “improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening” when he was sent off during his second game in charge against Swindon.

It was a bizarre rant, during which he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “My job is to try and save this football club in the short term but also to put it in a better place moving forward and at the moment there are too many babies and that is not just young players, there are too many babies from top to bottom.

“First half was boring, I’d rather watch frigging Antiques Roadshow than that,” Deeney added. “No offence to anyone that likes Antiques Roadshow.”

He also criticised midfielder Reece Brown, who he left out of the squad, for showing up late, and called former Coventry defender Fankaty Dabo’s performance “poor and awful”.

Rovers chairman Dale Vince said: "These are decisions nobody likes to make, but we have acted this way to give Forest Green Rovers the best possible chance of improving results and climbing the league table.

"We wish Troy all the best for the future and thank him for his efforts."