Selkirk boss Fergus resigns

The 49-year-old boss, who has been in charge at Yarrow Park for the last 14 months, said it was time to let another team take over the mantle of manager and hopefully steer the club forward.

Fergus, just back from a three-week holiday in the USA, gave no other reason for his decision to move on, hinting only at “some underlying circumstances, but nothing major”.

He stressed there was no ill-feeling - it was a decision to call it a day, he said, while extending his best wishes to the team.

His assistant, Dave Bingham, and another coach, Jimmy Urquhart, are also leaving the club.

Selkirk were languishing near the foot of the Lowland League when Fergus took over from Garry O’Connor in December 2016. A UEFA-licensed technical coach, he was hailed at the time as the most highly qualified coach the club had ever had, with youth coaching qualifications from SFA, FA and FAI associations, and extensive experience with youth football academies at clubs including Hearts, Dunfermline, Hamilton Academical and Hibernian.

He had also delivered coaching clinics at home and abroad, having worked in Europe, America and the Far East.

Fergus managed to keep Selkirk in the Lowland League – by just one point, at the expense of Preston Athletic – but the club made a very good start to this season’s campaign and are currently sitting in fifth position, on 33 points.

Their most recent game featured a 5-0 home victory over Hawick Royal Albert in mid-January, while their next scheduled match is this Saturday, away to East Stirlingshire.

Fergus said leaving the job with the side in fifth position felt like the top of the league, considering they were at the bottom when he came in.

He added the players had been “absolutely brilliant” and they were disappointed when he told them the news. However, they were an understanding group and it would be “business as usual” for Saturday - they would be going out and trying to win a game.

Fergus felt it would be better for a new manager hopefully to come in with around 11-12 games still to go and bed themselves in for next season.

Right now, he was looking forward to becoming a football spectator once again, for the time being.

“I have really enjoyed my time – the players made it,” he said. “They made it for me because they are a really great bunch.”

Fergus was reported in July to have signed a three-year deal with the club – now chairman Ross Anderson and his colleagues are looking for a successor.