Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
“I wasn’t sacked — it was my choice to go due to personal circumstances...”
Gaffer quit for personal reasons
Former Airdrie manager Stephen Findlay said he was not sacked as gaffer but left the club for “personal reasons”.
Findlay’s time at the helm came to an end last Monday after a run of disappointing results.
The club announced the decision on its Twitter feed, with the explanation of “mutual consent” leading to speculation among fans that this translated as Findlay being sacked.
But this week he told the Advertiser that was not the case and said: “Leaving the club was down to personal reasons.
“It had nothing to do with the football or the team’s form.
“There are personal circumstances and I felt the time was right to go.
“I instigated it with Paul Hetherington. I wasn’t sacked.
“Paul and I have a great, open and honest relationship and he’s a pleasure to deal with.
“I love the club and wanted to do the right thing for it.
“I’m going to take some time out of football now to make sure I can take care of things on a personal level.”
Over the weekend Airdrie released a statement revealing they have been “impressed by the calibre of applications” for the managerial vacancy.
Findlay reckons whoever takes on the role is walking into a dressing room capable of challenging for promotion.
He continued: “There’s a great group of players at Airdrie.
“They’re a terrific bunch of lads and I think they’ll go on to finish in the top four.
“The young kids did well last season and handled themselves professionally in a tough situation for the club.
“This season was a fresh start for everyone, although still in a transitional phase. “That’ll take some time.” Reflecting on his tenure at the club, which began just over a year ago, Findlay said: “From day one I’ve been very proud to serve Airdrieonians.
“I’ve been here for nine out the past 11 seasons as a coach. That’s a long time in football.
“I was happy to come back to help a year ago when nobody else would step up.
“I love the club and wanted to do the right thing then and it’s the same now.
“I don’t think I realised the difficulties when I came in.
“On and off the park it was a real challenge.
“I squeezed about 10 years of management into one season with the difficulties that came with this job.
“There were a lot of uncharted waters and for the most part I enjoyed it.”