Buckle paid the penalty

Tuesday 14th December 2004


PAUL Buckle's hopes of succeeding Steve Claridge as Terras boss ended when he gave the players an unexpected night off from training, Martyn Harrison reveals.

The former Aldershot star was handed the reigns on a caretaker basis following Claridge's dismissal last month, and Weymouth's chairman says he was happy for the mid- fielder to do the job indefinitely.

Harrison explained: "The board invited Paul to run the team after Claridge was sacked, and we told him we'd see how things went.

"I was quite pleased with the ways things were shaping up and I told him we were in no hurry to recruit
anyone as long as everyone was happy; we even agreed a year's extension to his contract.

"One of the things the board had insisted was that the players must train twice a week - or once if they had a midweek game.

That hadn't been happening before; it was something we insisted on and that Paul had agreed to.

"Then one Thursday night a director went up to the ground when the team should have been training and there was no one there.

We spoke to Paul about it and he said he'd give the players the night off because they'd had a tough week up until then.

This was totally unacceptable, and so that's when things had to change."

In the end the Terras appointed Steve Johnson as boss.

Johnson immediately left Buckle out of the side because he felt the Exeter-based man's 'head wasn't right'.

It soon became obvious, says Harrison, that Buckle wasn't happy to work under Johnson, and so the club, in conjunction with the Professional Footballers' Association, negotiated a pay off.

Harrison added: "I cannot discuss the terms because both parties signed a confidentiality clause.

It was a disappointing episode and one that we could have all done without, but it's done and dusted now."

Paying up contracts is something Harrison is getting used to, having already done deals to off-load big
= earners from the Claridge era, Robbie Pethick and Lee Philpott.

And it's unlikely to end there, with Chukki Eribenne and Shaun Wilkinson believed to be on the chairman's wage-cutting hit list.

"To be fair to Robbie and Lee, they were both as good as gold over things," added Harrison.

"When Robbie came down with Havant the other day he made a point of coming and thanking me.

He seems a lot happier with his football and life in general, because he had a few off the field problems when he was with Weymouth.

"Lee was straight with me and said there was no way he could get down from his home up north to train twice a week, and we sorted his release out sensibly and without any fuss."