All change for Rugby Town as boss Carl Adams leaves Butlin Road 'by mutual consent'

It was announced on Monday that it had been 'mutally agreed' between the club and Adams that he would leave his role after six-and-a-half years as boss at Butlin Road.

Valley have endured a difficult campaign so far this season, and the final nail in the coffin for Adams was Saturday's 4-0 defeat at Boldmere St Michaels - Rugby failing to recover from going 3-0 down inside the opening 21 minutes.

The loss was Rugby's third on the spin and their eighth in their past 11 games, a sequence of results that leaves them third bottom in the Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division table, and five points adrift of safety.

Rugby Town director Neil Melvin said: "Carl has been with us since 2018, and we have enjoyed some good moments under his leadership during that time, including our promotion back to Step Four in 2023.

"However, we made plans in the summer to make a significant improvement on last season's performance, and that has not materialised.

"To last more than six years in any level of football is a testament to Carl's dedication, but all parties feel the time is right to move on.

"We are a club that believes strongly in loyalty and continuity and we have given the situation every chance to succeed, but now we are making preparations to work with a new manager to help the club move forward."

Adams had been in charge at Rugby since the club were moved into the United Counties League in 2018, finally earning promotion from Premier Division South in 2023.

Before that, Adams had led Rugby to consecutive third-place finishes in the UCL either side of two Covid-affected campaigns between 2020-2022.

In total, Adams took charge of 257 games as Rugby Town boss between 2018-2024, with a win percentage of 53.7 per cent.

Player-coach Liam Francis will take charge of first team affairs on an interim basis, but the club has already started the process of recruiting a new manager.

Interested parties are invited to send their application, including a CV and covering letter, to [email protected].

Rugby are due back in action on Saturday when they travel to fifth-placed Darlaston Town.