SWINDON Town coach Gavin Gunning said there could be “100 excuses” as to why Jody Morris was not able to do well during his time as head coach, but ultimately “the results just didn’t come.”

Morris – and assistant head coach Ed Brand – departed the County Ground on Monday having won just four of his 18 games in charge.

Despite arriving with a strong reputation, the former Chelsea and Derby County assistant manager failed to help Swindon push on for a play-off spot and oversaw 10 defeats – four of which were largely down to late collapses.

With the 44-year-old having left, Town turned to Gunning and goalkeeper coach, Steve Mildenhall to guide them through the final League Two game of the season on Monday.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Gunning made subtle defences for the former head coach but stated the lack of victories made his exit understandable.

Gunning said: “That’s football sometimes. It just doesn’t click; it doesn’t go for you. The situation does align itself for you to be successful. It just depends.

“You can make 100 excuses, but at the end of the day, the results just didn’t come and that’s unfortunate.

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“Jody is a good guy and I’m sure he’ll do fine whatever his next job is. He’s coached at Chelsea at first-team level.

“It’s different being a coach to a head coach, to be fair. There are completely different everyday-scenarios that you find yourself in. And it was his first time [as senior head coach].”

Despite some initial shock around the timing of the decision, Gunning insists the performance against Crawley will not show evidence of that as anyone connected with football understands how quickly things can change.

Explaining that Morris will be a better coach having been through the experience at Swindon, Gunning said: “He’ll have learned, he’ll have made a lot of mistakes, done a lot of things well, but that’s what you do as a coach.

“You’ve got to always be reflecting on what you’ve done well and what you can improve.

“Some lads will be gutted the gaffer has gone, and some will be really happy. That’s just how football works.

“Within a week, I’ve been in dressing rooms where it’s done and you’re onto the next one. That’s what happens in football. It’s a ruthless game, and that’s the honest truth.”