Lakers coaching staff suspended

Correspondent

Doncaster have suspended head coach Kieran Dempsey just five days before the start of their National League campaign.

The Lakers said Dempsey and his assistant Phil Windley have been asked to step aside pending an investigation, and have placed former Hull KR and Sheffield Eagles coach Gary Wilkinson in temporary charge.

Doncaster, who officially launched their bid for a Super League franchise in 2009 on Friday, have declined to elaborate on the reasons for the shock development.

The Lakers could now be looking for their fourth coach in 16 months.

Tony Miller was appointed following the sudden death of St John Ellis on New Year's Eve in 1994 but he was sacked last July.

Australian Dempsey, 40, was appointed full-time head coach on a two-year contract last August but Doncaster failed to reach the knockout stages of the Northern Rail Cup after winning just one of their six group games.