Elgin City confirmed the departure of manager Gavin Price and his assistant Jim Weir following their 3-0 loss against Albion Rovers.
The announcement came just hours after the loss which left the Borough Briggs side sitting bottom of League Two on goal difference.
It was also a sixth defeat on the spin for the Black and Whites.
They have only five games remaining to avoid finishing bottom and landing a place in the dreaded SPFL pyramid play-off.
An Elgin City statement read: “We can confirm the departure of manager Gavin Price and assistant Jim Weir following a sustained period of poor results.
“The board of directors wish to thank Gavin and Jim for their hard work and dedication since joining.”
Price had been in charge at Elgin since October 2017. He joined the club as Weir’s assistant in 2014. He was appointed caretaker when Weir left to join Forfar Athletic in 2017 before being handed the job on a permanent basis.
We can confirm the departure of manager Gavin Price and assistant Jim Weir following a sustained period of poor results.
The Board of Directors wish to thank Gavin and Jim for their hard work and dedication since joining.
A further statement will be issued in due course. pic.twitter.com/KZJ1UynYzO
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) April 8, 2023
Price shared his disappointment at losing his job on social media, writing: “Been an honour and a pleasure to have worked at Elgin City since 2014.
“Sad to be leaving a club and people who have become a big part of my life but understand how football works.
“Results haven’t been good enough this year, I am more gutted about that than I am my dismissal.”
Been an honour and a pleasure to have worked at @ElginCityFC since 2014.
Sad to be leaving a Club and people who have become a big part of my life, but understand how football works. Results haven’t been good enough this year, I am more gutted about that than I am my dismissal pic.twitter.com/6K1sbDUkTf— Gavin Price (@gavprice74) April 8, 2023
A demoralising 3-0 defeat against relegation rivals Albion Rovers proved to be the final straw.
Following an evenly matched first half, City were blown away by Rovers after the break.
Charlie Reilly drilled home the opener for the home side after 54 minutes before Joe Bevan doubled the advantage four minutes later.
The game was put beyond doubt eight minutes from time when Bevan showed fantastic composure to round the keeper and roll the ball home from a tight angle.
The sixth successive league defeat means Elgin now trail Rovers on goal difference, though have a game in hand of their relegation rivals – a home meeting with Stenhousemuir on Tuesday evening.
Speaking before his departure was confirmed, Price backed his players to fight their way to safety.
TEAM LINE-UP
Our starting XI to face Albion Rovers today!
Come on the City! ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/1aVZ4LAqBv
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) April 8, 2023
He said: “It’s our fault we are where we are, it’s only these guys who can get us out of trouble – I know what they are capable of.
“We need to get that strong mentality now and show we are up for the fight, I’m certainly up for it, the backroom staff as well, we need the players to show that too – it’s our job to make sure that happens.
“We are in a massive dogfight now and we need to show the same character and resilience that Albion Rovers showed against us and that Bonnyrigg have shown in the last few weeks.”
Price admitted he was concerned by his side’s alarming slump in form.
He said: “It was a bad reaction, we didn’t respond well to falling a goal behind on Tuesday against the run of play (against Stirling Albion) and we did the same against Albion Rovers.
“The players have to look at themselves now, we’ve put ourselves in this position and we need to fight to get ourselves out of it.”
Elgin were dealt an early blow when Evan Towler hobbled off following a heavy challenge with just four minutes on the clock.
The loss of the left-back clearly impacted the Black and Whites, and the Borough Briggs boss fears he may be without the 18-year-old for an extended spell.
“It was obviously a massive blow for us, Evan has been doing very well – we are hoping it’s not too serious but it doesn’t look great,” he added.
“It certainly upset us, though I thought the first half was pretty even and there wasn’t much in the game.
“We’ve made the first mistake again, you’ve seen the dark side of us which has been seen all too often in recent weeks unfortunately.”
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