Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
ROVERS SWAP ROCKS KEVIN
Manager admits latest change of chairman could affect his future
MARK PIRIE
Albion Rovers boss Kevin Harper says he was left stunned by chairman Eddie Hagerty’s resignation – admitting it leaves him with an uncertain future.
The announcement that the Coatbridge supremo was to step down rocked Cliftonhill after a brief statement on social media last week.
Hagerty says the decision was plotted months in advance to give interim chairman Ian Benton a smooth transition following the AGM last month.
Benton is expected to be at the helm for the remainder of the League Two season, with the club in the midst of a scrap at the foot of the SPFL.
It leaves the club with their third chairman in two years. Hagerty took over from Ronnie Boyd in November 2018.
However, the boss says he was stunned by the news, admitting that it could leave him under pressure.
“It wa s a shock to me,” he told the Advertiser. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.
“At the end of the day Eddie has decided this is the best for him at this point, and I’m sure Ian will do a good job. It’s a change and ultimately it could have a big effect on the club.
“I had a good relationship with Eddie, but for me it’s just another person to call chairman.
“I have a good relationship with Ian from when he was a director.
“That doesn’t mean that if he or someone else comes in and decides he wants someone else to do the job that I’ll be here. That’s the nature of football.
“If they think someone else can do the job better that’s out of my hands.”
Hagerty, who has stepped back to become a director, has insisted “there was no coup” and “no behind-the-scenes motive”.
He said: “Over the past two years the club has gone through some challenging times and in the past six weeks it seems like things are going well on the pitch.
“I will still be able to work as a board member so I still have the opportunity to offer support and get involved with the club.
“The word we use is that we are the guardians of the club and I’m privileged to have been a part of that, and in the club’s centenary year.
“I have every faith in Ian and my fellow board members will work towards a cohesive vision for the club.”
Incoming chairman Benton first came to the Rovers in 2007 when his son Alan signed.
He has been involved at the club in one way or another since then, joining the board in 2016.
In a statement to the Advertiser, he said: “I hope to consolidate the good work done by previous chairmen Eddie Hagerty and Ronnie Boyd, strengthen the link between Albion Rovers and the community and take the club forward.”