Paul Rowley has cited ‘morals and beliefs’ as the reasoning behind his departure from Leigh.
The 40-year-old resigned from the ambitious Championship club last week under a cloud of mystery.
He had kept himself under-the-radar since his departure, with Rowley stating at the time that personal reasons were behind his exit.
While commentating for 5 Live Extra last night, Rowley clarified that personal reasons mentioned in his original statement following his resignation were not related to issues at home before addressing his exit in more detail.
“The best way of putting it is I want to keep my integrity intact,” he said.
“I’m a man of morals and beliefs, and there are certain aspects that I wasn’t in agreeance with and I fell on my sword if you like.
“It was a really difficult decision. I love the club, I love the town obviously and I love the players and staff.
“But sometimes if something doesn’t sit right with you, you’ve got to stick with your morals and beliefs and I made a really brave decision.
“I know my wife’s proud of me and I’m proud of myself, but none the less it hurt. It’s a disappointing one, but I’ve done what I felt is right.”
When pressed further, Rowley remained coy on the details.
“Part of holding my integrity is some things aren’t for me to go shouting about.
“In my press statement I said that I would comment no further, as did the club.
“The club has since commented quite a lot further, so I guess this is just a little bit from me, which is inevitable.
“You know I like doing radio with you guys, I was going to get asked the question and I wanted to get it out of the way.
“I guess there are some things you don’t need to know and if you find stuff out later about certain things then that’s up to you.
“I have beliefs. I don’t want to hurt the club – it’s a place that I love and the town that I love.
“It was a real difficult and upsetting decision that I felt I had to make to be true to myself, I think that’s the best way of summarising.
“The staff are great, the players are great and the fans are great.
“I’m right behind the club and appreciate every bit of support that everybody has given me and I just want to crack on now.
“It was a leap of faith and I don’t know what’s around the corner, but I believe that good decisions and good people will get their rewards and I hope I’m one of them.
“I’m a Leigh man and I’m very proud to have done what I’ve done and achieved at Leigh.
