Carluke Rovers axe fell on manager John Dunn after alleged absences from training sessions

Carluke Rovers have sacked boss John Dunn after allegations that he attended less than half of the club's training sessions during his brief two-month tenure.
John Dunn has been sacked by Carluke Rovers (Pic by Sarah Peters)John Dunn has been sacked by Carluke Rovers (Pic by Sarah Peters)
John Dunn has been sacked by Carluke Rovers (Pic by Sarah Peters)

Ex-Forfar Albion gaffer Dunn (43) exited the John Cumming Stadium outfit in double quick time and was swiftly replaced by Cameron ‘Spike’ McNeish, after angering club bosses by missing umpteen team sessions due to work commitments.“I feel that John let the club down,” Rovers chairman Ian McKnight told the Carluke and Lanark Gazette.“In hindsight it was a regretable appointment.“At the interview stage in October John had made a number of pledges and commitments which it very quickly became apparent that he couldn’t fulfil“John tripped the light fantastic at interview.“But we very quickly found out that there was no substance behind how he had sold himself.“John said he had a backroom team, but that wasn’t the case as they never came to any training sessions.“One assistant of John’s mysteriously got a job in London and so couldn’t come to the training.“I only saw this guy (Craig Nisbet) once at our Scottish Junior Cup defeat against Kirkintilloch Rob Roy on October 28.“I never saw him again after that.“Yet when I pressed John on this issue he never had an answer.”The Rovers managerial situation then looked to become even more farcical when Dunn also changed jobs and so couldn’t attend Rovers training sessions either as he was travelling to Manchester.Dunn’s unavailiablity initially saw McNeish brought in as his assistant gaffer, so at least training was being supervised.“I don’t think John ingratiated himself with the playing squad as quickly as we’d hoped,” Ian added.“He wasn’t a proper match for Carluke Rovers.“We don’t know if he applied for the manager’s job here with no expectation of getting it, that he was maybe just doing it to get interview experience.“He was dotting about the UK on work commitments. I never found out what his job was.“We felt it was best that John didn’t continue and so we relieved him of his duties.”The Dunn escapade is clearly an embarrassing one for Rovers officials, who will tighten up their due diligence on any future coaching appointments.It is only three months since Dunn arrived as Colin Slater’s replacement at John Cumming Stadium.The Dundonian said then that he’d settle for nothing less than a promotion challenge in his first season at the club.But he managed only five Rovers matches, winning three and losing two.And Dunn, whose managerial career had previously seen him boss Hooley Bridge Celtic, Lewis United and Forfar Farmington under-23s, will now not get the chance to lead Rovers’ bid to go up from Central Division 2 this season.The Gazette tried to contact Dunn for comment, but he hadn’t replied as we went to press on Tuesday.Chairman McKnight is hopeful that new man McNeish can get Rovers heading in the right direction, saying that he had the players’ respect.Rovers are at home to Dunipace this Saturday.

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