By Andy Neild

I'VE got to learn over the years that nothing surprises you in football.

But on Friday afternoon, I was genuinely shocked to find myself interviewing Tony Parkes after the Blackburn Rovers stalwart had just been sacked, rather unceremoniously, following 34 years of loyal service.

I, like the vast majority of Rovers supporters, was under the impression that Parkes had a job for life at the club he has served so manfully as a player, coach and caretaker manager over the last three decades.

So to hear the news that he had suddenly been discarded came like a bolt from the blue - particularly when the details emerged in regard to how he found out.

Football, as we all know, is a cut-throat business at the best of times - a murky world where individuals often get knifed in the back.

But Blackburn Rovers are normally one of the better clubs who pride themselves in the way they treat people with respect and dignity.

They've worked hard over the years to build a reputation for honour and integrity in the game, which is why some of the top names in football were queuing up to replace Graeme Souness as manager two months ago.

However, on this occasion, they got it catastrophically wrong as Parkes learned of his fate through the media - a cardinal sin given the way he's served the club.

Rovers, quite rightly, have been heavily criticised over the last few days for their whole handling of the affair and there's no denying it's a PR disaster.

But no-one is more embarrassed and hurt than the board itself at the way the news leaked out before Mark Hughes had the chance to break the news to Tony in person.

The actual decision to off-load Parkes as reserve team manager was made at a board meeting last Tuesday.

The directors then wanted to spend the next few days looking at other alternatives, with the idea being to find Parkes another role within the club.

On top of that, logistics meant the earliest opportunity that Hughes, Parkes and John Williams could all meet up together was Friday, as Hughes and the players were off last Wednesday and Williams was attending a meeting in London the day after.

It was therefore decided that Parkes would be told of his fate face-to-face in a meeting on Friday morning but somehow the news got leaked to the Press before Hughes had time to intervene.

Not surprisingly, the fans have been up in arms ever since, accusing the club of acting in a cowardly, underhand manner.

But the decision to axe Parkes was not part of some Machiavellian plot.

The club's biggest mistake is they did not act quickly enough. Once the decision was made, they shouldn't have waited three days to break the news, given the way things leak out in the media.

The only thing they can do now is make a grovelling apology - which they have done - and then vow to conduct a thorough investigation to make sure this never happens again.

It's been a dark few days for the club and few have emerged with much credit.

But although Parkes is upset by the way it has all been handled, the last thing he would want is for this to drive a wedge between the club and the fans.

OUT: Tony Parkes was sacked by Rovers in a PR disaster

Parkes' strife