Departure of Deveronvale assistant manager Michael Morrison due to work commitments is a big disappointment to Vale boss Craig Stewart
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DEVERONVALE manager Craig Stewart is eager to add to his coaching staff following the departure of his number two Michael Morrison.
Morrison has left the Banff club due to increased work commitments, with Stewart left to work with coaches James Blanchard and Kevin Stewart.
He says he may look to add a couple more bodies to his backroom staff.
"Mo had been speaking about it for a few weeks and trying to make it all work in the last three or four weeks but it wasn’t working for him.
"He’s got a new position at work and it is going to demand more through the week.
"Mo is a bit like myself in that if you can’t give it 100 per cent, there’s no point in doing it at all.
"We did try looking at ways to make it work but there was just no way. It is a big blow for us."
Stewart took former Highland League title-winning captain Morrison in earlier this year and said they worked up a strong working relationship.
"It’s a real pity because we had built up a good partnership and I think we would have done well going forward.
"I would certainly like to work with Mo in the future at some point because we were a good combination.
"It’s another blow that the players and myself have had to deal with in the club this week."
Vale sold captain Ross Aitken to Fraserburgh and Matthew Wallace to Banks o' Dee after both refused new contract terms.
Kyle Willox was also placed on the transfer list but Stewart says he will continue to play and is still hopeful that the player will stay on at Vale.
Kyle won’t be going anywhere and I’m really not sure how keen Kyle is to actually leave, but he has one or two issues regarding travel (from his Aberdeen base).
"He hasn’t actually said to us that he wants to go."
Stewart has made an offer to trialist striker Andy Hunter after the former Inverurie Locos man scored a hat-trick against Fort William and two more in the 5-4 defeat to Nairn on Saturday.
"He is still trying to make his mind up. He had an impact again with another couple of goals, you can see he’s got a bit of class about him and his finishes were great.
"He has been speaking to another couple of clubs and he has been quite open and honest about that.
"He has a few things to weigh up to do the right thing for him. We have offered him a contract and we would love to have him but he needs to speak to a couple of other clubs and I believe he has already so hopefully he will make his mind up in the next week or so.
"It would be a big boost to get him on board so we will see how we are placed."
Replacing his number two Morrison is Stewart's priority and he intends to move fast on that matter.
"It’s not going to be easy replacing him but I have a few people in mind.
"We maybe need to bolster our management team. I have Kev and Blanchy at the minute but we maybe need a couple of other bodies instead of just an assistant, but it’s something we will have to think about over the next couple of days.
"We need somebody in quite quickly but it needs to be the right fit for us as well, not just a case of us being desperate for new bodies and taking someone in for the sake of it."
