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After weeks of speculation the disastrous start to the season has finally cost Crawley manager Francis Vines his job. Assistant Murray Jones takes temporary charge.
Vines quit his postman day job only three months ago to take Crawley full time following the summer takeover by the SA Group, but leaves them after a week when they were dumped out of both the LDV Trophy and FA Cup, and just a single point from the bottom of the league.
Vines, 43, took charge at Crawley permanently in March 2003 after two years as reserve team boss and a brief spell as caretaker manager. He also played for the club and several other local sides including a spell in the Conference with Sutton in 1999, but doubts were cast over his longevity in the post when Alan Mullery became "Football Consultant" for the club just over a month ago, with then assistant boss Dave Swindlehurst departing soon afterwards.
Vines gained Crawley promotion to the Conference for the first time in their history, and earned them a creditable 12th place in their debut season last year.
