RESULTS, performances, league position and crowd dissent all played their part in the dismissal of York City manager Martin Gray.

That is the verdict of City sporting director Dave Penney, who revealed the board first discussed Gray’s position after Saturday’s 1-1 National League North home draw with Curzon Ashton.

Ex-Darlington chief Gray then learned his fate on Sunday morning following a telephone call from Penney.

The decision came just five matches and 15 days into the new season, but Penney reasoned: “It came down to a culmination of things and results were a big factor.

“You can make stats work in whichever way you want but, taking into account the end of last season, we’ve won two of our last 12 games. The performances haven’t been good enough either and have led to unrest among supporters.

“You obviously listen to the boos at half-time and at the end of home games and that has an effect because, as a board member, you can’t ignore it and they have been vocal at other grounds as well. We gave Martin a chance to bring his own players in during the summer to see if there was an improvement, but we don’t think there has been.

“We sat down as a board and talked about the situation on Saturday after the game, thought about it more that night and, then, felt we made the best decision for York City in the morning. We’re eight points off the top and we’re not happy about.

“We’re also eighth in the table and we’re not happy about that either. Now Sam (Collins), Stuart (Parnaby) and the players need to pick points up, so we can all be happy.”

Penney went on to confess that it was difficult for him to deliver the news to Gray, given the pair both arrived at Bootham Crescent at the same time last October, and also worked together previously at two other clubs.

“It was a tough decision for the board and wasn’t taken lightly,” Penney pointed out. “It was also a tough decision personally, as I have had a relationship with Martin for 15 years.

“He was my assistant manager at Darlington and I also took him to Oldham with me. I made the phone call on Sunday morning to tell him and it’s been a tough couple of days.

“It knocked me as they’re not nice calls to make but it’s life, football and the position I’m in now. Martin took it reasonably well and he’s realistic.

“He knows the way football is, because he’s been in it a long time and the expectation at this club means we have to be right up there.”

It is believed that Gray was on a one-year contract with the Minstermen that would have come to an end in six weeks’ time, meaning any financial settlement is unlikely to be onerous for the club.

“Martin’s contract was up for renewal quite soon without going into specifics and a decision would have needed to be made,” Penney explained.

Despite Gray being relieved of his duties, Penney believes that the City squad which has been assembled is strong enough to challenge for promotion this term, with temporary chief Sam Collins expected to work with the players he is inheriting rather than making new additions.

Penney did add, however, that out-of-favour players and some of the club’s teenage talent might now get a chance to impress under the temporary regime.

“Some players will be gutted to see Martin go and some will be delighted because that’s human nature,” Penney declared. “It’s the industry we’re in and you can only keep 11 players happy at any time.

“For some that are sat in the stand, it will be a fresh start and I’ve had a chat with the whole squad this morning and most of them have been here before and experienced a managerial change or few. We think all the tools are in place in terms of the recruitment that was done over the summer.

“It’s just not quite clicked yet and Sam and Stuart will work with what they’ve got at this moment in time. There’s a couple of players injured in Sean Newton and Alex Kempster and I know Sam likes a couple of the youth-team lads he’s been working with, so he might involve them at the weekend to bring in some freshness.”