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Struggling New Zealand Football Championship soccer side Waikato FC have parted company with head coach Dave Edmondson after a string of poor results and an early morning incident allegedly involving three of his players.
Edmondson's position at the bottom of the table club, who have lost five and drawn two so far in this season's NZFC, had been under scrutiny following the poor results -- most recently going down 2-1 to Hawke's Bay United.
Then on Sunday there was an early morning fighting incident that left three of his players facing police charges.
Now Edmondson has fallen on his sword.
Club chairman Keith Ward said Edmondson had resigned from all roles at Waikato FC.
"The franchise has accepted Dave's resignation as a regrettable but appropriate decision that he took after recent internal discussions over a number of issues.
"Dave leaves us upon an amicable basis and we wish him the best for the future."
Assistant coach Ray Pooley would take over as caretaker coach and the club would immediately advertise for a new head coach.
"Ray is not only hugely experienced but also a highly respected member of the greater Waikato football community, and a man eminently capable of uniting our supporters and the club over the coming week," Ward said.
He acknowledged the past weeks had been "frustrating" for the club.
Pooley has a big task this weekend, taking his squad to Auckland to face table-topping Waitakere United.
Edmondson had previously acknowledged his job was in trouble due to the season's results even before the Sunday morning incident.
The club has declined to name the three players involved but they were charged with fighting in a public place and are due to appear in Napier District Court on November 28.
The incident, about 4.30am on Sunday morning, left a member of the public requiring hospital treatment.
Napier police Senior Sergeant Tony Dewhurst said on Sunday it had not yet been established whether the injured person had been assaulted by one of the three Waikato team members or someone else.
No one else was arrested.
- NZPA
