Eleven out at Glens
Boss ushers in new era with squad revamp
Rutherglen Glencairn boss Willie Harvey says it was time to revamp his squad – because too many of them had ‘cigars and slippers’ out.
It’s a new era for the club as Harvey prepares to take his side into the top tier of the new West of Scotland League set-up.
He has brought in Rikki McIntosh, Gary Giffin, Derek McNab, Mick O’Byrne, Keirin Coleman, Scott Schoneville, Jackson Biggar, Kieron Maxwell and Tommy Lone, while Tommy’s brother Michael and Kieran Hannaway have been promoted from the under-21s.
That has meant Grant Hay, Kyle Chrystal, Lewis Dawson, Rhys Donaldson, Stevie Kerr, Craig McGregor, Gavin Lachlan, Jordan Leyden, Dale Simeon, Callum McRobbie and Gary Smith leaving the club.
Harvey admits there were some on that list that he would like to have kept but wishes all of them well for the future.
He said: “Players become stagnant if they stay too long. They get settled, things become easier for them, they feel as if things are owed to them.
“It’s like cigars, pyjamas and slippers, so to speak – they’re settled in, comfortable, quite happy, going through motions, and it does start to happen with players, it just becomes a way of life.
“Our job is to recognise that scenario happening and make that change, to keep things fresh.
“We had players there that we didn’t want to move on – guys like Dale Simeon, Jordan Leyden. These are massive players who we would love to have kept at the club, but we wish them all the very best.
“Football just evolves all the time; if you stand still you go backwards.
“At the end of the day, Glencairn will be here long after players have left, and all we want is the best for the club.”
On the new crop, Harvey said: “We have a new bunch of lads coming in, it’s a new era for us.
“We’re now classified as a senior club, we’re no longer a junior club – but we will always remember our junior background and origins, which will always be a massive part of our history.
“Now it’s time to move forward and make some new history, and we’re looking forward to it.
“It’s a new era, it’s exciting, and it’s just a pity what has happened with the Covid, but it might just make people appreciate it more, stop taking life for granted, start getting out there and enjoying it again.”