Colchester United have announced that they have parted company with head coach John McGreal. The 48-year-old guided the U’s to the League Two play-offs this season, where they were beaten by Exeter City.
John McGreal and Colchester United Part Company
In a statement issued this morning, Chairman Robbie Cowling has announced that @ColU_Official and Head Coach John McGreal have parted company. #ColU
— Colchester United FC (@ColU_Official) July 14, 2020
Club Going in a Different Direction
In a statement issued by the club this morning, chairman Robbie Cowling confirmed that McGreal was informed of the decision earlier this month due to the club wanting to go in a different direction.
Cowling said: “The club is going to be implementing a new plan that will see the first team being even more tightly aligned to the academy and that I along with my three other directors (Tony Humes, Tony Ashby and Jon De Souza), felt a change of first-team head coach was required if our new direction was to be successfully implemented.
“This last season has been one of the club’s best seasons for a number of years and John should be very proud of his time in charge of the first-team.”
First Job Comes to an End for McGreal
McGreal permanently took over the reins at Colchester in 2016, having been instilled as the caretaker boss for a short period in 2015.
In his permanent spell, he oversaw 202 matches in total, coming away with 76 wins, 55 draws and 71 losses, giving him an overall win percentage of 37.6%.
This is significantly better than the man he took over from, Kevin Keen, who was sacked after winning just five matches out of 24 between December 2015 and April 2016.
McGreal’s time at the club will certainly be remembered fondly, not least because he got the U’s the closest they have been to a return to League One this season.
However, defeat there has ultimately forced the board to take a different approach as they look to get out of the fourth tier.
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