Albion Rovers boss Kevin Harper says he was left stunned by chairman Eddie Hagerty’s resignation– admitting it leaves him with an uncertain future.
The announcement that the Coatbridge supremo was to step down rocked Cliftonhill after a brief statement on social media last week.
Hagerty says the decision was plotted months in advance to give interim chairman Ian Benton a smooth transition following the AGM last month.
Benton is expected to be at the helm for the remainder of the League Two season with the club in the midst of a scrap at the foot of the SPFL.
It means the club are looking for their third chairman in two years. Hagerty took over from Ronnie Boyd in November 2018.
However, the boss says he was stunned by the news, admitting that it could leave him under pressure.
“It was a shock to me,” he told Lanarkshire Live Sport.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all. At the end of the day Eddie has decided this is the best for him at this point. and I’m sure Ian will do a good job.
"It’s a change and ultimately it could have a big effect on the club.
“I had a good relationship with Eddie, but for me it’s just another person to call chairman.
“I have a good relationship with Ian from when he was a director.
“That doesn’t mean that if he or someone else comes in and decides he wants someone else to do the job that I’ll be here. That’s the nature of football.
“If they think someone else can do the job better that’s out of my hands.”
Hagerty, who has stepped back to become a director, has insisted “there was no coup” and “no behind-the-scenes motive”.
Incoming chairman Benton first came to the Rovers in 2007 when his son Alan signed.
He has been involved at the club in one way or another since then, joining the board in 2016.
In a statement to Lanarkshire Live Sport, he said: “I hope to consolidate the good work done by previous chairmen Eddie Hagerty and Ronnie Boyd, strengthen the link between Albion Rovers and the community and take the club forward.”
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