Town stalwart parts company with club

Lurgan Town went public late last week to announce Greig Savage, Steven Savage and David Kidd had left the club.

Lurgan man Greig Savage has been a player at Lurgan Town for 22 years of the club’s 25-year history and his departure has set tongues wagging.

It’s understood he was dismissed from the club after rumours began to circulate he was taking over as manager of Lurgan Institute next season.

With just a handful of games to go and Lurgan Town Reserves challenging for the league title under the captaincy of Savage, the move came as a shock to followers of Mid Ulster football in the town.

The ‘MAIL’ understands Savage was asked to leave because of the Institute rumours and accusations that he’d been tapping up players. Neither his brother Steven nor David Kidd are believed to have been linked with Lurgan Institute.

Greig Savage denied the accusations of tapping up players and said he leaves the club with his head held high, having enjoyed his 22-year journey with Lurgan Town. The 34-year-old central defender chose to make no further comment on the issue.

Lurgan Town made the announcement about Savage, his brother Steven and Kidd via a public post on Facebook last week. They did not give any reason for the departures, stating only, “All parties involved know the reasons behind this and the club will not be making any further comment on the matter. All at Lurgan Town would like to thank Kidd, Savage and Savage for their hard work on and off the field.”

Having prompted a public debate Lurgan Town later stepped away from the discussion by posting the following message on Facebook: “The purpose of our last post was to thank three members of the senior set up for the service they have given Lurgan Town. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish them well in the future. The reasons behind the parting of company are known by the individuals and should they wish to discuss it further on Facebook that is their choice, Lurgan Town however will not be entered into a public debate, on this or any forum as this page is a platform for both the senior and junior set up and comments can be seen by all.

“Our club is at the heart of the community and represents every level, not just senior and senior reserve. I’m sure everyone will agree that it’s thanks to this junior set up that we have people who have provided so many years’ service, regardless of where their footballing paths bring them. HOTS (Heart On The Sleeve - the club’s motto).”

Both posts from Lurgan Town FC were later removed.

A further post was added on Wednesday morning to say the departures were “purely down to footballing reasons”.

With Savage absent from the line-up Lurgan Town Reserves lost 3-1 to Coalisland Athletic on Saturday.