Nigel Davies: Ex-Gloucester boss 'not bitter' about sacking

Former boss Nigel Davies has insisted he feels "no bitterness" towards Gloucester after his sacking.

The 49-year-old Welshman spent two years in charge at Kingsholm before being dismissed in May after a poor finish to the 2013-14 season.

In an interview with the Guardian, external on Wednesday, he said he was "disappointed" by the club's actions.

And he has defended his decision to speak out, telling BBC Gloucestershire: "It's not an expose in any way."

He continued: "I have no bitterness at all towards the club. In fact, I'm really looking forward to the start of the new season and seeing how that squad performs.

"I feel there's quite a lot of me within that squad but I've accepted that and I've moved on."

Davies, a former Wales international, spent four years in charge of Scarlets before moving to Gloucester as director of rugby in 2012, to replace Bryan Redpath.

The Cherry and Whites finished fifth in Davies' first season in charge, which earned them a Heineken Cup spot, but they struggled last term and their final-day defeat by relegated Worcester saw them finish ninth in the league, with only eight wins from 22 games.

The club then activated a clause in Davies' contract, which stipulated he could be fired if they finished in the bottom four of the Premiership.

"Our first year was a relative success," added the Welshman. "Our second season was a disappointment but no-one is more disappointed than me.

"But I was going to be judged on next season's performance and if then we didn't hit the top four, I'd have been the first to put my hands up and walk away.

"But I understand these decisions have to be made."

Gloucester have now appointed former Ulster boss David Humphreys as their new director of rugby, with Laurie Fisher joining from Brumbies as head coach.

Prior to his departure, he secured the signings of five internationals for next season - New Zealand prop John Afoa, Argentina lock Mariano Galarza, Wales hooker Richard Hibbard, Scotland half-back Greig Laidlaw and England lock Tom Palmer.

The club have since added Wales fly-half James Hook and Tonga hooker Aleki Lutui to their new-look squad.

And Davies says he is disappointed he did not get the chance to see through on his plans for the team.

"Going into this season there was a massive opportunity as over 24 of our senior players were out of contract," he concluded.

"Plus the club have invested a lot more money in the squad, so there was a huge opportunity to rebalance the squad. That was part of my plan and now that's in place.

"But they've brought in a fantastic coaching set-up and they've obviously invested a lot of money in that area and credit to them for doing that. I genuinely wish them well."