Departing St Cuthbert Wanderers boss believes Kirkcudbright club in better shape than when he took charge

Departing St Cuthbert Wanderers boss Ian Clark believes the club is in a better position than it was 12 months ago.

Clark stepped up from his assistant manager role last summer following the departure of Josh Gardner.

But he has now left to work with Gardner again at Rossvale.

Clark’s assistant Paul Hilston will take over, with Raymond Gordon as assistant, Kirk Gibson fitness coach and skipper Ally McMillan also carrying out some coaching.

Clark said: “I think the club is in a better position than when I first took charge.

“We’ve already got players signed on for this year and I think the positive thing for me is these lads, although they agreed to sign up for me, are playing for the club, which is what the end goal was for me.

“It just felt the right time to do it now – the family is getting a bit older as well and I’m getting a bit older, although I’m still in my 30s!

“The squad’s in a good place, the club has just had a change at the top with the committee slightly changing and it just felt like the right time.

“I love the people at the club and the staff, we’re set up for success moving forward.

“I’d like to thank the committee and the fans as they have been nothing but fantastic and supportive of me.”

Last season was a difficult one for Saints as they won just two league games and finished second bottom of the South of Scotland League.

Clark had blooded a number of younger players and had also secured several members of the squad on new contracts before his departure.

He said: “The old cliché is you’ll hear people say it wasn’t an easy decision – in reality it was an easy decision.

“The hard thing is the people at the club are fantastic – the committee and fans are amazing and have been