Camelon Juniors FC: Co-boss Stewart Kenny leaves club as board confess 'bump in the road'

The ex-Oakley manager, who led the club to the East of Scotland Premier Division, joined Camelon last October and eventually steered the club away from the relegation places in the First Division table.

In an update from the club’s recently formed strategic board, they admitted the football department’s ‘timeline had to be accelerated, as they confirmed Wylde would take on “sole” charge of the first team.

A spokesperson said: “The coaching team hit a bump in the road this week when Stewart Kenny decided to move on. We’re all sad to see him go, and we’ve parted as friends.

"We’re sure Stewart won’t be a stranger to the club, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts.

"So now, it’s Gordon Wylde who assumes the sole management role at the club. Gordon has a brand and style that he wants the team to play. We’re sure that once it’s bedded in, it will deliver an entertaining product on the park."

They added: “We’ve seen a large turnover in players. It’s something we had planned to do in the summer in a more phased way, but external circumstances dictated that the timeline had to be accelerated.

"The addition of new players necessitated that we release or sell a number of players to ensure the squad was a manageable size and to be fair to the players, no player wants to sit in the stand and not play.”

It was also confirmed that star player Euan Baird left the club due “an exceptional offer” that suited all parties involved.

"Over and above this, we had an exceptional offer for Euan Baird, who was firmly in our plans,” the statement read. “But with three months left on his contract, we simply could not refuse an offer of that size for the player. In the end, it worked out well for all parties.”

The club also gave an update on the state of play off the park as director of football Steven Allison looks to put his stamp on things after also making the move from the Dyes.

The statement added: “Off the park, we’ve made good progress with our aims. The formation of a charity is well underway, and the partnership with LK Galaxy has already grown the Camelon family.

“Our under 20s squad is developing well under the guidance of Andy Rodgers and his coaching team. The fruits of that we all watched with immense pride in the game against Civil Service. Developing our own talent will be one of the key pillars of the club’s future.

"As we’re sure you’ve no doubt seen, we’ve seen an increase in commercial activity, with new sponsors coming on board. Work to grow our commercial revenue remains high on our priority list. We’re immensely grateful to all our sponsors, new and old, for their continued support.”

Camelon face St Andrews at home this afternoon (Saturday), weather dependent, in the third round of the King Cup. Mid-week, they lost 1-0 to Dunipace in the League Cup, with Wylde and his team still looking for a first win since joining the club last month.