Charlton defender Cory Gibbs says the players were as shocked as the fans when they learned that coach Ian Dowie had been fired after only a dozen Premiership games in charge.

The Addicks boss was sensationally shown the exit door at the Valley on Monday evening, following two wins in the first 12 games of the season, a ledger that had his side rock bottom of the Premier League with eight points.

"Yeah, it came as a shock to us too," Gibbs told YA. "We just walked into training on Monday expecting Iain to be there and he wasn't, so it was a big surprise."

The news that Dowie had won England's annual 'sack race' - the honor of being the first coach fired each season - then began filtering out via the internet in the late afternoon.

"Everybody actually found out from the television in the evening to be honest with you," admitted Gibbs. "But on Tuesday, we had a meeting and they let us know the situation that they had parted ways."

Dowie arrived at the Valley in May with the unenviable task of picking up the baton from Alan Curbishley, who had agreed to sign Gibbs from Feyenoord shortly before leaving the South East London side after 15 years at the helm.

The former Crystal Palace coach came armed with a reputation as a master motivator, but his new methods apparently did not find favor with all the Charlton personnel, which allegedly persuaded a increasingly nervous board of directors to wield the axe sooner rather than later as the Addicks languished at the foot of the table.

"Everybody is not going to have the same opinion," Gibbs agreed. "His was a different style, a different approach, which comes with every manager."

"Everyone has a different opinion. Dowie's views were of course a bit different from Curbishley's."

On a personal level, the US defender found former Northern Ireland striker Dowie a joy to work with, and admitted he will miss his presence at the training ground.

"Personally, I liked him," he stated. "I liked his attitude and the way he did things. He looked into the players and saw how they were feeling and treated everybody equally."

The real reason for the abrupt termination of Dowie's contract lies with the league table, however, set against Charlton's record outlay of $21 million over the summer and a television deal worth $3.2 billion that kicks in next season for clubs in the Premiership.

Club chairman Richard Murray's statement on Tuesday confirmed as much.

"Crucially, we had to consider whether we believed our current situation would improve and we reluctantly came to the conclusion that it would not," it read.

"It was just a shock and everybody is trying to get over it now," Gibbs reiterated. "They gave him a time frame and I guess he just did not perform in that window and they felt that this was the right time to make a change. It is tough, but that is how football is."

Gibbs confirmed to YA his return to action is still penciled in for mid-December, when he will be looking to force his way into the starting lineup under new coach Les Reed, former assistant to Dowie at the Valley.

"It has all been going pretty well, so I feel I am on course," he said.