Coach quits ... and upset player puts the boot in

The tenure of North Force men's senior  coach Dean Wheatley has come to an
unexpected end.
He has stepped aside  and handed  the coaching reins  to skipper Bruce Plunkett.
The change came after a no-confidence vote was narrowly averted at last week's North Force board meeting with the vote tied at 3-3.
However, the writing was on the wall for Wheatley, who some have accused of trying to create an exclusive culture instead of the  togetherness that North Force promotes.
Following the  meeting, Wheatley said he had decided to "take a step back and give an opportunity to one of the coaches coming through the ranks".
That  is Plunkett, who will  hang up his boots to concentrate on his new role for the rest  of the season.
With only six games left  and North Force  ninth  on the United Soccer 1 Premiership  table, Wheatley said it was a suitable time for Plunkett to take over. He will work alongside Plunkett.
"It is an ideal time to see how he goes as there is nothing left to play for at this stage of the season.
"He'll be taking the team - along with me - for the rest of the year," Wheatley said.
Wheatley is also the US1 area coach and  said he took over  coaching the men   last season because "there were no suitable coaches in the region".
 Plunkett was now ready to step up and show what he can do.
"Part of North Force's role is to develop coaches as well as players," he said.
While North Force achieved an outstanding third in the US1 Premiership last year, they have struggled this season  with what Wheatley described as their "best-ever" line-up.
Dissent within the team started  with key players leaving  to return to their  club sides, including Kyle Mac, Adam Sharp and more lately Dale Benito.
Mac, an  effective centre-midfielder, was a huge loss.
"What really got the ball rolling was when my club (Whangarei FC) and I were treated badly by Wheatley when several FC players, including me, wanted to play for our club in a big Federation Cup game against Takapuna mid-season," he said.
Whangarei FC put a written request  to the North Force board asking for their players to be released.
The board said it would be up to the players and coaching staff to decide.
The board  seemed happy to postpone the US1 Premiership fixture.
North Force were scheduled to play East Coast Bays that weekend in  the only US1 Premiership fixture due to Chatham Cup matches, Mac said.
While most of the team were happy for Mac and the other FC players to play for their club,  Wheatley  opposed  the idea.
He blamed  FC for holding North Force back from competing in the Chatham Cup  by  taking their spot in the national knockout  competition, Mac claimed.
In fact, Kerikeri had entered the Chatham Cup and North Force were denied entry because they are affiliated with Kerikeri.
Seeing that North Force were not going to be involved in the competition, FC then entered.
"We (FC players) were 100 per cent committed to playing for North Force but the way that incident was handled ...
"I thought North Force was about bringing clubs together but I was really disappointed how badly my club was treated in front of juniors and reserves as well senior players ... so I just walked, along with Adam Sharp and Mike Crowley, who left at that stage but later went back," Mac said.
"I really miss playing at the top level with quality players and have told the board I would play for North Force again if I received an apology to me and my club from Wheatley."
Another reason Mac left was Wheatley's coaching - or lack of it, he said.
"There is no message at North Force. I have trained with club sides in Auckland which  have structure at training and game plans which North Force does not have.
"North Force is supposed to be about developing footballers. If the senior side is not getting the right coaching, I worry about who's giving the juniors support.
"I have two sons starting to play now and I will have to send them to Auckland if it doesn't improve up here."
There were  some  good coaches in the area, including Paul Herbert, the North Force reserves coach, and Onerahi coach Dave Alabaster. Both would be  good mentors for players at the top level.
"It's a bold statement to make, but I think a lot of players there are unhappy with the coaching but no one is willing to say anything," he said.
In-house fighting on the board and politics had spoilt the experience for Mac.
Everyone at North Force needed to focus on the game instead of their own agenda, he said.
A former North Force administrator who did not wish to be named said during Wheatley's time at the club, he had "alienated people who were willing to help and needed to help create a good team culture".
"Half the board wish him gone while the other half are sitting on the fence.
"He won't be there next year as the whole board needs to be in agreement," he said.
The  North Force structure was  good and had huge potential but the  coaching and management situation  was detrimental to the organisation's well-being. "It's time for a change," he said.
With Wheatley handing over the reins,  that is now possible.