Colchester United: Ben Garner sacking 'a reality check' - acting boss Scott Marshall
- Published
Scott Marshall was put in charge of Colchester after interim boss Matthew Etherington had to step aside
Acting Colchester United boss Scott Marshall said the sacking of Ben Garner as head coach had been a "reality check" for everyone at the club.
Marshall found himself in charge of the team at Accrington on Saturday after a contract issue meant interim head coach Matthew Etherington had to step down.
Despite the confusion, the U's registered a second successive victory.
"It's a difficult situation. It's probably something that goes above my head," Marshall told BBC Essex Sport.
"It's a difficult one that needs to play out. I'll have conversations about football, if that's all right with you.
"Ben suddenly being removed from his post gives everybody a reality check in terms of the seriousness of it."
Colchester have taken maximum points from lengthy trips to Grimsby and Accrington since Garner's exit after seven months in charge - and climbed three places to 20th in League Two.
Etherington was appointed before the Grimsby game but was not able to sit on the bench at Accrington after former club Crawley told them he is still under contract with them until May.
As a result, Marshall - who was Garner's assistant at Swindon and Charlton, as well as Colchester - was told on Friday evening he would be in charge.
"To go away to Grimsby, go away to Accrington and come away with six points is fantastic. I thought the boys dug in and showed huge amounts of character," the Scot said.
"Once we got the goal ahead you could see a real determination in the group to hang on to it. When you see that in a squad, that's one of the fundamentals of football, isn't it?
"Where there's a bit of spirit and character, hanging on to something and showing a bit of grit and determination - people want to see that."
Crawley said in a statement they were unaware until last Wednesday that Etherington had been in breach of contract since being appointed Colchester Under-21s boss in June - and accepted Colchester were not aware of it either.
The relevant clause of Etherington's contract states: "The manager shall not be permitted to bring his agreement to an end early under this clause to take up employment at or be otherwise engaged by another football club playing in the same or a lower league as the club is playing in at that time. No buyout will be permitted in such circumstances."
However, the Sussex club said if Etherington asks for permission to resume his under-21s role, they would grant it.
Marshall, meanwhile, praised match-winner Joe Taylor, who scored the only goal of the game at Accrington at the second attempt after surging forward from his own half.
"Sometimes as a centre-forward you've just got to hang in there, be patient and take your chance when it comes," he said.
Taylor was eventually substituted after 80 minutes and Marshall said having two long trips in the space of five days had taken a toll on the players.
"Grimsby away on a Tuesday night is never an easy one, getting back at three o'clock in the morning or whatever [time] it was we did get back," he added.
"Then you spend five and a half hours on the coach on the Friday as well to get ready for the next one - that's tough going, tough to perform at a high level."
Colchester face another long trip on Saturday when they take on League One Shrewsbury Town in the first round of the FA Cup.
It has yet to be confirmed who will be in charge of the team for that tie.
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