Athlone Town responds to Colin Fortune's comments and appoints interim women's team boss
Athlone Town AFC has this afternoon (Tuesday) announced the appointment of an interim manager to take charge of its women's team, and also responded to comments made by former manager Colin Fortune in an interview with the Westmeath Independent this week.
Fortune resigned as manager of the reigning league champions and current league leaders at the weekend, just days before tomorrow evening's Europa Cup qualifying round first leg fixture against Glasgow City.
In a statement, the club "noted" the comments made by Colin Fortune, saying: "This has been a historic season for Athlone Town AFC, and our focus remains firmly on supporting our teams as they continue to compete for success."
The club said Colin Fortune had sought an extension of his contract as manager "ahead of vital League, Cup, and European fixtures".
"When an agreement was not reached, a resignation was submitted just before our fixture with Shamrock Rovers and subsequently accepted after the match," the club's statement said.
Athlone Town described the timing and manner of Colin Fortune's departure as "regrettable" but said it wished to sincerely thank him for "his role with the club this season and for his contribution to the progress made on the pitch".
"As this is the first season under the new board, all football matters – from academy structures to senior management – will be reviewed at the end of the season as part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening the club," said the statement.
The club said it was currently in the process of appointing a financial manager and that it had started recruiting "further support staff across all teams to ensure our players and coaches have the resources they need to succeed."
"Our players have been spoken to directly regarding recent developments and remain united, motivated, and focused ahead of upcoming matches," said the club.
"We believe strongly that the most important thing to focus on is a special group of players representing our club, our community, and our country on the European stage.
"We will continue to support our teams with all resources at our disposal in order to perform at an elite level, and our focus is preparing for a historic game in Glasgow on Wednesday night."
The statement went on to say that John Sullivan would take interim charge of the women's team for the remainder of the season, having previously worked with the Athlone Town men's side.
"We wish him every success in this role," said the club. "Finally, we would like to wish our players the very best of luck as they travel to Glasgow today to make history once again.
"The club will be making no further comment at this time," it added.