Chesterfield manager James Rowe's suspension is a 'bolt out of the blue', says first-team coach

First-team coach Danny Webb said manager James Rowe’s suspension is a ‘bolt out of the blue’.
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Rowe was suspended on Monday pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

No details about what the allegations are or how long the investigation could take place have been released.

Webb will be in charge for Saturday’s trip to Eastleigh.

Chesterfield manager James Rowe has been suspended.Chesterfield manager James Rowe has been suspended.
Chesterfield manager James Rowe has been suspended.
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Asked by the DT how he reacted when he was told, Webb said: "I was surprised, you don’t expect to see a statement of your manager being suspended for the time being. But it has happened. It is a bit of a bolt out of the blue but once you know the score and you realise you have got to take training the next day you have have to try and put it to the back of your mind.”

Webb, who said he was made aware of the news an hour before the statement was released, revealed that the board held a meeting with the players to ‘reiterate’ the club statement.

He also said he ‘did not know anything’ about whether the police are involved.

“The club has made a statement and until that investigation is complete and due processes are complete my job is to crack on and take the game on Saturday,” he explained. It is the old saying of ‘each day as it comes’ at the moment. That is as far as I know. I am prepared to work with the players and help the club at this unusual time.

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“I was asked if I would be prepared to take training on Tuesday and potentially the rest of the week and that is all it has been so far. I have been in football a long time and sometimes these things happen that get thrown upon you and you have to rise to the challenge and get on with it. That has not been a problem for me as such because I have done it before in a spur of a moment, day-by-day thing. At the moment, I am in the same boat as everyone else.”

The squad has been training as Loughborough University this week but Webb insisted that it was pre-planned by Rowe the previous week.

“I think one of my strengths is to keep people motivated and upbeat and that has not really been an issue because we have got such a good set of players who have been assembled,” Webb said. “They are the best set of lads I have been around in a dressing room whether it be as a player ot a coach. They are very focused, we have got some good senior pros that even if I was not taking training they would not allow the focus to go off Saturday’s game.

"Training sessions have been lively, have been sharp. In terms of the mood around it, I have probably distanced myself a little bit more than usual from the players because I am usually the bridge between the manager and the players and obviously me being the one to lead training this week I have had to sort of get my head on it and have a really good think about what we are doing.”