Manager John Robertson sacked by East Fife

Published on Friday 2 March 2012 03:39

THE AXE fell on John Robertson’s reign as East Fife manager yesterday when he was dismissed after just over 16 months in charge of the Bayview club.

It is believed that the decision was made after the club’s board sanctioned the recruitment of striker Kenny Deuchar on loan from Livingston to help their promotion push. However the deal was not secured and the front-man joined rivals Stenhousemuir instead.

Former Inverness, Hearts, Ross County and Livingston manager Robertson took over from player/manager Stevie Crawford in October 2010 and a strong second half of the season saw the Fifers just miss out on a play-off place. This season saw memorable wins over SPL sides Dunfermline and Aberdeen in the Scottish Communities League Cup, however Robertson’s side have been inconsistent in the league and are currently fifth, having lost to Forfar in midweek.

Robertson’s contract was due to expire at the end of the season and he had aired issues last autumn about the travelling involved from his Inverness home.

A club spokesperson said: “We had offered John the chance to bring in a player to help the push for promotion but, for whatever reason, it never happened. His contract was up soon and it would have been unlikely that he would have stayed on due to the travelling issues he has talked about so we thought it was best to part ways just now.”

“The club would like to thank John for his efforts and wish him every success in the future.” Assistant manager Gordon Durie, who Robertson touted as his replacement when he talked of quitting due to the travelling involved, will take the team for tomorrow’s match with Arbroath.

One candidate that may be of interest to the Fifers is the man who skippered the side to the Third Division title in 2007, Steven Tweed, who gave up his job as manager of Montrose a year ago due to work commitments with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Tweed’s role in RBS covers the Fife area and this could make a return to the dugout appealing to the 40-year-old.

Robertson declined the opportunity to comment on his dismissal.

Taken from the Scotsman