Man City captain Alex Greenwood admits 'shock' after being left in dark over Gareth Taylor's surprise sacking - but reveals some players may have had 'negative' relationship with fired boss

On Monday, City announced that Taylor would be leaving the club and replaced by Cushing on an interim basis. City are currently way off the pace in fourth in the Women's Super League, though remain competitive in the three cup competitions - the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League. Ultimately, with the gap to WSL leaders Chelsea at 12 points, a change in the dugout has been made.

Greenwood claims she did not know about Taylor's sacking despite her position as City's captain and was left surprised by the development, although she hinted that certain members of the squad had a poor relationship with the boss - Ellie Roebuck, who left for Barcelona last summer, shared a cryptic post on Instagram after news of Taylor's dismissal broke having previously admitted to being on frosty terms. The timing of City's culling is made all the more confusing by the fact they play Chelsea in the Women's League Cup final this weekend.

Greenwood told the media on Tuesday: "A bit of a whirlwind 24 hours. A lot to process, a lot to digest. My role as the captain is to bring the team together and make sure the focus remains the same which is on the final on Saturday and the run of games we’ve got coming up. I was shocked by the news, of course. I wasn’t expecting that news yesterday but it’s business and this is football. I think the focus quickly shifted to what’s next, what is important to the team and that’s the final on Saturday."

Asked if she was shocked by the decision, she added: "Yeah maybe, but that’s where the trust comes into it with the club on their decision and the timing. I have no influence on that. The positive thing is bringing Nick in straight away. He is a figure that has been here before, done it and been successful. I think that’s a really positive move."

On her relationship with Taylor, Greenwood said: "I think in football and any business, everyone has a different relationship with their manager. I think some is going to be positive, some is going to be negative. I think that's just how it is. I can't speak for anybody else but myself and I had a positive relationship with Gaz. We got on well. He brought me to the club, he played me a lot, he trusted in me, he made me captain of the club, which I'm very grateful for, and I understand that sometimes not everyone's going to feel the same because decisions are made about playing or not playing and ultimately, everyone wants to play football, so at some point, people are going to be disappointed, and that's how football works.

"But right now, we have to move forward. It's a conversation that we can keep speaking about but for me, personally, and for the team, I'm excited for the weekend. I'm really looking forward to watching the team play against Chelsea on Saturday."

City will hope to start their new era with a trophy against Chelsea this weekend. They then play the Blues again in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.