August 19, 2004

After weeks of speculation, Woodlands Wellington player-coach Simon Clark have finally bit the bullet & stepped down with the 37-year-old Englishman tendered his resignation, claiming he wished to return to Britain as soon as possible.

The Rams had appointed assistant coach Jorg Steinnebrunner as caretaker coach until the end of the season.

It is believed that the Rams' disappointing slide from topping the league for most of the first third of the season to its present fifth position was less a factor than dressing room unrest.

A group of players were said to be disgruntled with Clark's brutally honest & direct style of management, while others were peeved with his treatment of Ahmad Latiff.

Midfield star Latiff was given latitude by Clark as the coach turned an occasional blind eye to his absence during training sessions, although the Englishman finally had enough of his antics in mid-season & told Latiff that his next infringement would be his last.

As news filtered through Woodlands' training session on Wednesday evening, some players were surprised by the swiftness of the move despite being well aware of the rumour mills churning.

Midfielder Goh Tat Chuan said he was surprised, because he thought Clark did well enough for a rookie coach but admitted the club's performances in the second round were not simply good enough so he hope whoever comes in can improve the team's fortunes.