Coventry City

Coventry City Ladies boss cites work and family commitments for ending seven-month spell

Chris Holloway has stepped down as manager of Coventry City Ladies after a seven-month spell with the club due to family and work commitments. Holloway guided the Sky Blues to the Birmingham FA County Cup, as well as finishing in fifth position in the FA Women’s Premier League, the highest league finish in their history. After taking over from Paul Cudby at the start of November, Holloway led the club to a 2-0 victory on his managerial debut against Derby County, and followed this up with an excellent 2-1 win over Cardiff City in the league a week later. A plethora of postponements and rearrangements in the winter period proved detrimental to their form however, as they lost their first three league games of 2013 to send them plummeting down the table. Holloway enjoyed a strong end to the season though, which culminated in the Sky Blues defending their FA County Cup title with a penalty shootout win over Sporting Club Albion. Holloway won 11, drew two and lost six of his 19 matches in all competitions, during his tenure as manager. Bill Newnes, Chairman, paid tribute to Holloway’s efforts: “Chris has exceeded our expectations we set when we appointed him, by retaining the FA County Cup and finishing in the top half of the FA Women’s Premier League. “I have reluctantly accepted Chris’ decision to step down as manager of Coventry City Ladies Football Club for the coming season. His decision was based on his current work and family commitments. “We secured fifth place and this has been an excellent result for him. I can only thank him for his commitment in coming in halfway through the season, picking up the reigns and building on from where we were. We wish Chris and his family every success moving forward.” The club are now actively seeking a replacement that holds a FA Level 3 Coaching award, and has previous experience of coaching or managing at a senior club. Newnes added: “We would like to have the new manager in place by the end of June so we can kick off our pre-season training with the right people in place.”