Queens boss Kenny Brannigan lifts the lid on club strife

Apr 1 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, Dumfries Standard Friday

KENNY Brannigan fears for Queen of the South’s future.

In a frank and revealing interview with the Standard, the Doonhamers manager has painted a picture of the club with key players wearing rival team colours and a different manager at the helm.

The frustrated Queens boss has revealed:

l the team faces losing almost its entire squad with most players targeted by other football sides.

l he has been left in the dark about his own future and is applying for jobs.

l two SPL clubs are hunting fans’ favourite Paul Burns.

l he has criticised the board of directors over their handling of his players contracts and his own.

l he claims to have made numerous requests to discuss his contract with chairman Davie Rae to no avail.

Brannigan’s admissions show a man at the end of his tether, struggling weekly to field a team with the backdrop of almost none of his players knowing whether they will still be in a job in May.

And with two months left on their deals, Brannigan fears his first team squad will be plundered.

He told the Standard: “Things are a total nightmare. Almost every single first team player has been approached by another club between December and now.

“These players are out of a job in the next two months. I have told them to look after themselves and take an offer if they get it. They have kids and mortgages to think about.

“It is a disgrace.

“When you have got the smallest squad in Scotland and are in a cup final and fourth in the first division, it is not the players or the manager to blame. It is the board.”

Kenny Brannigan took over the top job when Gordon Chisholm left to take charge at Dundee. His relationship with the board of directors began to deteriorate when he was told his squad would be cut.

The gulf between the board and manager widened when his own contract was not reviewed in December and Brannigan announced he would not be renewing his own players’ deals until his own was sorted out.

Queens chairman Davie Rae then told the Standard: “I’ve a lot more on my mind than Kenny Brannigan’s contract”.

Now, with only five weeks of the league season remaining, only Dan Carmichael, Roddy McKenzie, Craig Reid and a handful of youth players are signed up beyond the end of May, leaving the door open for other clubs to swoop.

Brannigan claims he doesn’t know if his players have signed pre-contracts with other sides. But he has revealed that Queens star Paul Burns has been targeted by SPL sides.

He said: “Paul is a player who could really play in the SPL.

“St Mirren and Motherwell have both been after him. He wants to stay locally. He lives in Cumnock and he loves it here.

“He’s in his testimonial year yet he’s been treated like a dog.”

Brannigan’s own contract is also up in May and he has admitted to the Standard that he has applied for other jobs.

He said: “We’ve got bills to pay and I’m just the same.

“I’ve applied to jobs in England.

“I would love to stay, but I haven’t been told anything. I have asked for meetings with the chairman but nothing has happened. We’re all in the dark. It’s a total mess.”