ADAM PUTS THE BOOT IN
Winger blasts EK No2 Young and says he was ‘out of his depth’ He insists lack of quality and fitness cost Kilby Lowland title And he brands some of his ex-team-mates ‘cowardly’
Adam Strachan has launched a scathing attack on East Kilbride after his shock exit from the Lowland League club.
The 31-year-old has been a standout for Kilby over the past two seasons, but he was not offered a new deal by gaffer Billy Stark when the pair met last week.
In an exclusive interview, Strachan has told the News he clashed with assistant manager Craig Young and it’s understood things came to a head between them following the 2-0 defeat at Stirling Uni earlier this month, which saw EK relinquish their crown to Spartans.
The former Partick Thistle and Ross County winger has slammed the coaching at Kilby and reckons they have been stuck in reverse since Stark replaced last season’s title-winning manager, Martin Lauchlan, at the helm in June.
Strachan didn’t miss anyone on his way out of K-Park either, branding some of his team-mates ‘cowardly.’
He also spoke out about the issues he believes have plagued the K-Park side this season, from poor signings to dressing room ‘discontent.’
The News yesterday contacted manager Billy Stark, who said neither he or Young would be commenting on Strachan’s views.
Asked why he was leaving, Strachan said: “I just felt that after last season, the team hasn’t improved.
“Once we won the league, we should have strengthened — but we didn’t do that.
“The gaffer [Stark] was brilliant and I had a really good relationship with him. At the start of the season, I said I’d see what happened because I want to play at a higher level, but they went and promoted a coach from the under-20s [Young] and I think he was out his depth.
“I think it harmed the team and we didn’t improve.
“There wasn’t as much stability in the squad as there was last season.
“We went backwards instead of forwards.
“I know if we’d won the last game of the season, we’d be talking about a different story, but I felt that the buzz wasn’t around the club like last season.
“Some of the coaching that was set out and some of the coaches that were promoted to the first team weren’t good enough to take us in the right direction.
“I’m quite vocal in the dressing room. If things needed to be said, I was the one who stood up for me and the team.
“But I think one coach didn’t like the fact there was
a bigger voice in there than himself and there was a big clash of characters there.
“I must have said one too many things.”
Signed by Lauchlan in August 2016, Strachan was instrumental in Kilby’s league win last season and was a constant figure during this campaign, netting seven league goals.
Strachan scored in Kilby’s South Challenge Cup triumph last season and also helped deliver Stark’s first trophy at the club when they won the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup last month after beating Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the final.
But he says he feels let down by some of his teammates during this campaign.
He continued: “It wasn’t healthy for me [to stay] because I was getting worked up.
“I was getting frustrated because I’m giving my all and players aren’t doing what I expect them to do, as a team-mate.
“Maybe that doesn’t rub off the right way for some of them because some boys can’t take stuff like that.
“But last season there was more of a toughness to the team in their personalities.
“Now I feel when you speak to players, they go into their shell.
“I find that quite cowardly, to be honest. They need to man up and get on with it.
“There was discontent in the dressing room.
“There were boys not performing at the highest level and still getting a game, so that wasn’t good.
“Let’s just say it wasn’t as good as last season in there.”
Venting his frustration at another failed bid to reach the SPFL — following last season’s play-off defeat to Cowdenbeath — Strachan then criticised Stark’s recruitment.
“Who was signed that’s made an impact? Not one player,” he said.
“Nobody they’ve brought in has done it.
“Every other club got stronger players and added to their squad, while we seemed to go back the way.
“We lost players that were effective for us like Joao [Victoria] and we didn’t replace him.
“I felt from day one it wasn’t right.
“How we started the season set the standard for the rest of it.
“Last season the training was really intense, but everything seemed dead relaxed and we were told it would come good — but it didn’t come good, so there you go.”
Since the defeat to Stirling, Stark, Young and the players have been at a loss to explain their poor display in such a crucial match.
Most have attributed it to the nerves of a final-day showdown.
However, Strachan has blamed their fitness levels and he didn’t pull any punches on that either.
He blasted: “I put it down to fitness. I don’t think we trained hard enough and I put that down to the coaching.
“Training wasn’t intense enough or long enough at any point.
“What sums this season up is the teams that train more than anyone else — the two Uni teams [Edinburgh and Stirling] — took 10 points off us.
“They had more energy than us, they were shutting us down and that’s why we lost the league, with most of the same players who won it last season.
“We lost the league to two Uni teams... that’s embarrassing.
“If you have aspirations to go up to League Two, these things can’t happen.”
Strachan now hopes he can secure a move in time for next season after an impressive spell in Scotland’s fifth tier.
He added: “The past two seasons show what I can do.
“The gaffer said to me when I was leaving I’m not just the best player in the team, but the league.
“Hopefully that doesn’t go unnoticed and someone takes a chance on me.”