Chapman quits Albion in protest
6:30am Tuesday 20th May 2008
Ian Chapman has quit Albion in protest at the removal of Dean Wilkins as manager.
The Seagulls stalwart has decided his position in the backroom team is untenable after the club reappointed Micky Adams in place of Wilkins 12 days ago.
Adams tried to persuade the 37-year-old former long-serving left-back to stay. He said: "I spoke to Ian and told him to think long and hard about it but he had made his mind up.
"Obviously, with Dean not being manager any more he felt a little bit uncomfortable about it all and you have to expect that.
"He has certainly got no axe to grind with me. We are sorry to see him go and we thank him for his services."
Chapman had been both first team coach and reserve team boss since leaving Whitehawk as manager last summer.
He was part-time in the combined role last season but became full-time this season after giving up his job at the County League club.
Wilkins has yet to decide whether to accept the position of senior first team coach but the rest of the backroom staff have told Adams they are happy to remain in their posts.
Adams met with chief scout Barry Lloyd yesterday as he begins the task of assembling a squad capable of mounting a promotion challenge in League One.
Adams believes his recruitment drive has been aided by the five months he spent scouting for Stoke after relinquishing his role as assistant manager of Colchester in January.
He said: "My remit for Stoke was team scouting reports but also individual stuff as well.
"That took me all around the country, so I have got good knowledge of what is out there.
"Although you are working for somebody else, you always keep an eye out for players at the sort of level you might come back at.
"It worked out well for both of us. In the last six weeks I have been doing foreign stuff as well for Tony (Pulis). I have been to St Etienne, Monaco and Denmark.
"It's a global market now. I know Barry has been out and seen a lot of foreign players. We may or may not go down that avenue but at least we have a knowledge of it."
Meanwhile, the squad freshening process has been launched at the inexperienced end of the scale with the award of one-year professional contracts to striker Kane Louis, midfielders Dan Royce and Kane Wills and defender Andy Pearson.
The four other second-year scholars, Zac Beda, Lee Bryant, Matt Foreman and Ruben French, have all been released.
Shane McFaul, one of the players released by Albion at the end of the season, has re-signed for University College Dublin.