Claim and counterclaims as Thistle gaffer departs
War of words as McPhillips insists he wasn’t sacked
PAUL THOMSON
Stevie McPhillips has claimed he wasn’t sacked by East Kilbride Thistle after he parted ways with the club last week.
McPhillips took the reins at Thistle in December when Gary Hamilton stepped down by sending his resignation via WhatsApp while he was on holiday.
But last Wednesday (February 12), the axe fell on McPhillips with the Showpark side’s director, Peter Kelsall, insisting an “unanimous decision” was taken by the club to change the manager.
Since that announcement, McPhillips dismissed the sacking claims, insisting part of the reason for his departure was that he was being asked by Jags chairman, Brian McMullan, to play certain players.
McPhillips also claimed former Jags boss Hamilton was returning to the club, but this has since been denied by Hamilton.
Hamilton told the News: “I’m not going back to East Kilbride Thistle.
“I was asked to return as director off football, but I turned down the opportunity.”
McPhillips was in charge of Thistle for only three games after a number of matches were postponed due to bad weather.
Speaking about his exit, McPhillips said: “Brian was asking me if I could guarantee I would play certain players.
“He wanted me to guarantee I’d play ‘East Kilbride boys’ and I told him no. I can’t guarantee anyone will get a game, that’s not how it works.
“There’s stuff going on in the background that I don’t know about and then I get asked to guarantee we’d play certain players...
“How am I supposed to manage the team like that? I think Brian wants to manage the team.
“If they want to make it out I was sacked, that’s fine.
“It ended amicably. It was a conversation between two grown men, with no animosity.”
The Jags have brought in former Cambuslang Rangers and Gartcairn assistant manager, Gary Johnstone, to take the team , although he missed Saturday’s 4-0 defeat away to rivals Kello Rovers.
Jags director Peter Kelsall said: “We thank Stevie for his efforts, but the results weren’t going for us.
“Stevie is a nice guy and he did what he could, but football is all about results and we haven’t been getting them.
“Nothing was really changing from how we played under the previous manager.
“Stevie had a chat with the chairman and the committee and it was unanimously decided that a change had to be made.”
The Jags are second from bottom in the table and in a relegation dogfight with Kello Rovers, Royal Albert and Wishaw.
Reflecting on his spell, McPhillips added: “There’s no funds coming into the club, so it’s very hard to get players in. You only really get someone in through a favour or somebody you know.
“It’s a difficult job, but I told the guys I believed we could keep them up with eight of our last 10 games at home.”