While everything is looking rosy on the pitch at the moment, off the park the storm clouds are gathering. Our Rumour Mill is going into overdrive with news of events at Rugby Park and it does not bode well for the future. Last week the fans were left bewildered by the shock resignation of Chief Executive David Heath, and if our sources are correct, this week it looks as if it's his turn to wield the axe.

Ten players have been informed today that their contracts were not going to be renewed, most of which were members of the youth team which finished a record third in their league this season. Familiar names such as Jaconelli, Gold, Chris Boyle, McGlinchey, Coyle, and our very own number 50, Woodison, will no longer grace the Under 18 and Under 21 match reports. Apparently three of them are still under contract though so a few deals may have to be thrashed out.

Even more worrying is the keeper crisis which could now face us with veteran Gordon Marshall and Colin Stewart being cut loose

as well. If they decide to leave right away, who will play at Ibrox on Sunday? With Graeme Smith away on loan and No.2 Colin Meldrum still injured...will the gaffer have to field the untried youngsters Samson or Bell?

It was 'Rumour Milled' last week that Andy McLaren was on the brink of signing for Dunfermline, now we hear that Frenchman Freddy Dindeleux will follow him out the door at the end of the season...with no replacements coming in. That would mean that the squad of 47 who started last season would be cut down to 30, with some of our most experienced players cast asunder.

All this on top of the other stuff in the Rumour Mill this week does not make for good reading and is exactly the kind of publicity the club should be trying to avoid as they attempt to break the season ticket record for Rugby Park. How much of it turns out to be true remains to be seen. If it is all true then you heard it here first, if it's not then a big boy told us to go with it and ran away! We attempted to contact the club for verification purposes but no one was available for comment...we hope to bring you more news soon.

 

 

As promised earlier we have now been in touch with David Heath who, after consulting with Jim Jefferies, had this to say: "We don't want to get into a Hibs type scenario here with everything looking a bit cloudy so this is the  situation with the thirteen players who are out of contract in the summer. Gordon Marshall, Colin Stewart, Emilio Jaconelli, Chris Boyle, Joe Coyle, Joe Gold & Paul McGlinchey have all been told that their contract will not be renewed. There are also three youth players who still have a year of their contract to run who may or may no be leaving, but it's not fair to talk about them until any decisions have been made."

He went on: "We have made offers to Andy McLaren, Gary McSwegan, Graeme Smith, Liam McGuiness, Greg Gilroy and Neil McGregor and we hope that they will stay. Everyone else is still under contract, including Freddy Dindeleux who has been mentioned, so there is no change in their situations."

"Jim Jefferies has been given a tight wage budget by the board and he has had to cut his cloth accordingly. There a few players that are leaving who he would rather have kept and given a chance but have had to go for financial reasons. That's one of the toughest parts of his job and but we have to put faith in his judgment and hope that he can continue the fantastic start that he has made at this club."