18 Pars players released

It has been confirmed that all 18 of the players who are out of contract on 31 May 2015 will be released by the club.

The players whose contracts will not be getting renewed are as follows:-
Ross Millen, Alex Whittle, Ryan Thomson, Gregor Buchanan, Allan Smith, Kyle McAusland, Andy Barrowman, Jim Paterson, Ryan Goodfellow, Scott Mercer, Declan O’Kane, Finn Graham, Gavin McMillan, Jamie Wilson, Jonathan Page, Andy Stirling, Stuart Urquhart and Paul George.

Dunfermline Athletic would like to thank all these players for their efforts on behalf of the club and wish them well in the future. The Supporters Council meeting at East End Park on Thursday 14th May gave those departing a hearty applause by way of gratitude.

Speaking at the Supporters Council meeting the Pars new manager, Allan Johnston, revealed that he would be working with a smaller squad in 2015-2016:-

"It is going to be tighter but hopefully we can get better quality. I think that is what we need since the league position that we finished in emphasises that it just wasn't good enough. We need to freshen up the squad and this is a great opportunity to do that with so many players leaving.

"Now it is about recruitment and making sure that we get the right players in to get a winning team on the park."

Johnston went on to explain that he considered it unlikely that Ryan Scully would return next season to keep goal:-

"Seemingly he did great last year but Thistle are quite keen to get him back. That is disappointing after all the awards he won last season. There are a lot of options out there and it is all about getting the right people in.

"I have only been here a matter of days so I am assessing everything - the playing squad, the backroom staff and looking at ways of maximising the budget."