Tadcaster Albion searching for new manager after parting ways with Mick O'Connell

The Brewers finished the season 17th in the NCEL Premier Division and just two places above the relegation zone, albeit never having been in any real danger of going down.

The disappointment of a campaign which saw them suffer defeat in 21 of their 38 league matches and fail to win any of their last eight led to the club announcing on April 8 that its board of directors had decided that they ‘needed a refresh’.

But O’Connell has subsequently taken to social media to have his say on the circumstances which led to his departure from Ings Lane, insisting in a statement posted on his X account that he ‘was not sacked.’

The former Harrogate Railway boss, who led Tadcaster to a 11th-placed finish and the second qualifying round of the FA Cup during his first season in charge, explained: ‘After two tireless years at Tadcaster Albion, I made the difficult decision to step away from my role as manager on Tuesday morning [April 8].

‘Unfortunately, the club immediately released a statement which meant that my team and players were unable to hear the news from myself.

‘I want to be clear in addressing recent speculation: I was not sacked. While I fully accept that this season’s results have not been where either I, or the board, would have liked them to be, my departure stems from financial circumstances.

‘I was informed of a budget cut of £700 per week, and unfortunately, I could not accept those terms. I simply do not believe that it is possible to build a squad capable of pushing for promotion under such a significant reduction. My team and I wanted to get back to winning ways and we had a robust plan to do so. In addition, there was increasing pressure to select players from the lower end of the wage scale, which brought its own challenges and further limited our ability to compete at the level we aspired to.

‘I leave Tadcaster Albion with my head held high and with immense love and admiration for the fans and volunteers who welcomed myself, my team and the players so warmly. Your passion and support have meant the world to us.’

In addition to the statement released by the club in which O’Connell was thanked by the Brewers’ directors for ‘all his hard work over the last two seasons’, chairman Andy Charlesworth also spoke to BBC Radio York about the Irishman’s exit.

“The board have obviously been concerned for a number of months about us not being in the position that we thought we should have been in and we finished only two places above the relegation zone,’ he said.

“We have played inconsistent football for most of the season. We started off quite well and had a reasonable FA Cup run, but then between October and December we really, really struggled and it is a decision that had to be made.

“If you go back to last season, I think we finished nine or 10 games unbeaten and we were hoping that Mick would build on that. It started off alright, but then it was just total inconsistency.

“We struggled at both ends of the pitch. On the defensive side, we let too many sloppy goals in, and at the attacking end we have just not been good enough at getting the ball in the back of the net.

“And we let ourselves down on the pitch with our disciplinary record as well – that was not good at all. So, we decided that we needed to act, unfortunately.”

Anyone wishing to apply for the position of Tadcaster Albion’s first team manager should send their CV to [email protected] by April 21.