ALEX Smith has slammed Coventry City for sacking Steven Pressley, claiming they took him to the promised land of English football then SPAT him out.
The chairman of the Scottish League Manager's Association, who worked successfully with Pressley when he was the Bairns boss, insisted Pressley was not given enough time to achieve his goals with the League One strugglers. But Smith is adamant that Pressley's passion for management will remain as high as ever despite being shown the door by the Sky Blues. Smith revealed : "It's really disappointing. Steven went down there full of ambition, to pour his heart into the job. "After leaving Falkirk in excellent condition he knew it was a massive task, that there was a lot of work to be done.
"It didn't get any easier when the club was deducted points for going into administration and were forced to play their home games in Northampton, more than 30 miles away from their own stadium in Coventry, which obviously reduced their crowds. There were a whole lot of circumstances which Steven was up against, like having to sell his two top strikers who were scoring something 50 goals.
"Basically, because of the financial situation he was never working on a level playing field. The thing is I think Steven was getting there with his young team who were beating Sheffield United with only 12 minutes or so to go at the weekend only to draw. I just feel Coventry City have let him down. If that's what they are going to do with our young managers - taking them to the promised land as they call it - then spit them out as soon as they hit a bit of trouble - it's not good enough.
"They have to took at themselves down there and Steven certainly did not have enough time to do the job, getting Coventy City back to where they were. Steven is a very determined young man, a straight and honest fellow. He is very ambitious and despite what has happened he won't have lost any of his drive. He was not ready to leave Coventry. He was just starting his job, getting the structure in place. It all takes time for things to develop and that has been the case at Falkirk. Whoever comes and gets Steven will be very fortunate. He will be a very attractive manager to take on, that's for sure."
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