Southern league: Dandenong, senior coach part ways

Five games into the season, Dandy have installed a caretaker coach after the departure of Kerry Ashford.

Kerry Ashford has left Dandenong.

Dandenong and senior coach Kerry Ashford have parted ways.

The club’s executive last night resolved to accept Ashford’s resignation, which he had tendered on Saturday morning, president Aaron Monk said.

Club stalwart Mick Lawrence has stepped in as caretaker coach and former senior coach Phil Muscat will serve as an assistant.

Monk was reluctant to go into detail about Ashford’s departure but thanked him for his efforts.

Despite offering his resignation on Saturday morning, Ashford coached the side in the afternoon.

It lost to third-placed Lyndhurst by 37 points at Greaves Reserve.

Dandenong is 0-5 and on the bottom in Division 4 of the Southern league.

However Monk said the ladder didn’t show the improvement of the club on and off the field in the past 18 months.

He said about 40 players were cleared in, numbers were strong and training attendances were the best they had been for a long time.

“We’ve come so far and we’re building something that’s never been seen before at Dandenong,’’ he said.

“Mick can see it and he put his hand up to coach. He’s excited by what we’ve got, a young group, a great group. The atmosphere around the club is next-level. It’s fantastic.’’

Zach Cookson, Bailey Friend, Dylan Diacono, Scott Moody, Malcolm Elliot and Lenny Van Schaik were named best in what Monk thought was a creditable performance against Lyndhurst.

In the previous round the Redlegs rattled home by fell short by a point against Hallam.

In announcing Ashford as coach, Dandenong said he joined the club as a reserves player in 2019.

“From there he provided assistance with training sessions and building a rapport with the players in 2020 with the limited training we were able to have in the middle of the year.

“He has shown great football knowledge and a passion for the game which we are excite to see transpire on the field.’’