Rumours of Jenkins' departure surfaced last night, with Real Radio posting the story on their Twitter feed. The news was confirmed by Lennon in a statement this morning, which read:
"It has been confirmed this morning that assistant manager, Iain Jenkins has left the Club by mutual consent due to personal reasons. We would like to thank Iain for all his efforts, support and professionalism over the past 12 months at St Mirren Football Club and to wish him well for the future."
There has been much speculation for the former Dundee United and Everton player's departure. One suggestion is that certain players - such as Gary Teale - are not being signed by the management and Jenkins has quit in protest. Another is that he has family issues to deal with - although that would surely have been revealed by the club before it got anywhere else.
The third option is that he has had a falling out with Lennon, who he worked with at Cowdenbeath. However, the Saints boss denied that, saying: "There was certainly no bust-up. Iain left for personal reasons and it's not for me to say what they are. The most important thing is that we move on as a club. We won't be bringing anyone else in at the moment, we have good staff here and the most important thing is that we are going in the right direction."
It is expected Paul Mathers will take on some of Jenkins' jobs, with other coaches (whoever they are!) doing the others.
Let's just hope there's nothing sinister behind this, but I imagine we've not heard the last of this...
Story sources: The Official St. Mirren Website, Yahoo
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