Man City captain Greenwood shocked Taylor was sacked

Manchester City captain Alex Greenwood was "shocked" by the decision to sack head coach Gareth Taylor five days before the Women's League Cup final.

City are fourth in the Women's Super League, 12 points adrift of defending champions Chelsea, but are still competing in three cup competitions.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Greenwood said: "I had to digest it - I was obviously quite shocked when I was first told as it wasn't something I expected.

"Ultimately the decision was made and we have to respect the decision and trust the decision."

Taylor succeeded Nick Cushing in May 2020 and led City to two major honours - but Cushing has now returned as interim boss.

The club said in a statement when announcing Taylor's departure that it "prides itself" in competing at the top of the WSL and qualifying for European competition but "unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard".

Greenwood said she was not told any more about why the club made the decision but "for positive reasons, they want to move forward with Nick so we have to come together and trust that decision".

She added: "My role as 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 think the focus quickly shifted to what's next, what is important to the team and that's the final on Saturday."

City face Chelsea in Saturday's League Cup final (12:15 GMT kick-off), which is live on BBC One, in a run of four back-to-back games against the Blues.

They will then play Sonia Bompastor's side twice in their two-legged Champions League quarter-final, with a WSL meeting in between.

Taylor had been a controversial figure at City, with several players speaking out publicly about their experiences during his time in charge, including England goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck describing her relationship with him as "fractured".

However, Greenwood said she had a "really positive" relationship with the 52-year-old.

"I was his captain and we had a really healthy relationship," she added.

"I don't expect everyone to have the same relationship with the manager, that's football. Ultimately he has to make decisions and he's never going to please everyone."

Cushing will be in charge for the remainder of the season, having previously helped City win the WSL and the FA Cup, plus the League Cup twice, before leaving in January 2020 to join MLS side New York City.

"We were excited by that appointment because he knows the club really well, he's been here before, he comes with a huge history of winning and his mentality to win is second to none," said Greenwood.

"I had a really, really good chat with him on Tuesday morning.

"He had a great meeting with the team - a really, really positive one. It was ultimately about winning and what is achievable, what we need to focus on, which, first of all, is Saturday."