Sacked Olsen turns on Kinnear

A furious Egil Olsen turned on his players and predecessor yesterday after being sacked by Wimbledon after only 11 months. As his disastrous reign was brought to an end, the Norwegian branded his team "disloyal" and virulently castigated Joe Kinnear.

Olsen's tactics, personality and managerial style have been criticised almost from day one, not least internally. After an eighth straight defeat at Bradford on Sunday John Hartson called for a change of manager. Beforehand Kinnear had delivered a withering attack. As Olsen headed for the exit with the club in the relegation zone, he bit back.

"I thought I would see out the season," he said, "but there has been disloyalty from players. The comments from Joe Kinnear didn't help my case. I would never do what he did and criticise a manager before a crucial game. It is bad timing but that's the culture of English football."

It was the unique culture of Wimbledon - with its brashness and anarchy - that the quiet, regimented Olsen struggled to come to terms with. He looks a victim of player power and in a desperate attempt to stay up the club have turned to one of the old-style Crazy Gang. Terry Burton, with 12 years' service as coach and technical director, steps in for the last games at home to Aston Villa and at Southampton. He will enjoy the bond and respect Olsen never seemed to manage.

The former Norway manager's long-ball style was supposed to be tailor-made for Wimbledon, but the intricacies of his rigid 4-5-1 system, with its zonal marking, left a queue of disillusioned squad members. Many of his imports failed to integrate, Hartson said. Spirit appeared to drain.

Carl Cort complained that he was deployed in a wide role which did not maximise his strengths. Michael Hughes, arguably the squad's most inventive talent, found his lack of height and perceived defensive weakness counted against him. Those two, and others, are expected to leave .

"The one thing I blame myself for is that I never managed to impose my style on the team," Olsen said. "I have been criticised for my way of playing football but I never managed to implement that. I would have felt really depressed if I had managed to implement what I believed in and still failed but I don't feel as bad as that now."

It is tempting to heap some blame for that on the players. Having struggled to master the system at first, it appeared a few decided it was not to their liking and lost heart.

The captain Kenny Cunningham was flattering in his assessment of Olsen, though the club's decision to ban all other players from talking hinted at different obituaries. "We have to look at ourselves," Cunningham said, "before we point accusing fingers."

Wimbledon chairman Bjorn Rune Gjelsten insisted the media had put Olsen under great pressure. But he accepted he and his business partner Kjell-Inge Rokke should have bought out Sam Hammam on day one, rather than taking 80 per cent. "There has been a lack of focus and clarity," he said. "Had we been closer to the club we might have done a few things differently."

Burton's role will be reassessed in the summer, but already the former Wimbledon players Hans Segers and John Fashanu have expressed interest. Kinnear has also been mentioned, though a return would surely depend on the club staying up.

John Hartson allegedly instigated a fight with Bradford's Stuart McCall in the tunnel before Sunday's game. Hartson, later sent off for foul and abusive language, "started to fight" and was acting "pretty wild", according to Bradford's Gunnar Halle. It is thought McCall was kneed in the stomach. The referee Jeff Winter broke up the fight and if it is included in his report Hartson is likely to be charged by the FA.