SELKIRK manager Mike McKinnon will walk away from Yarrow Park at the end of this month. And he believes it is for the good of both the club and himself.

McKinnon has reigned over Selkirk Football Club for exactly two years.

He took over a team rooted to the bottom of the East Premier Division in November, 2011, with a view to rebuilding the club to its former glory of the 1970s and 80s.

His plans never really took off with relegation at the end of the 2011/12 season being followed by poor campaign in the First Division.

With assistant manager Aaron Biggs standing down last summer and the departure of some his most influential players, McKinnon’s task of producing a competitive Lowland League side was always going to be a tough one.

And after failing to record a single victory in the opening 10 matches, he announced to his players and the Yarrow Park committee that he was standing down.

The former Cowdenbeath and Ormiston player, who guided his native North Berwick to amateur silverware during his first managerial stint, will be in the dug-out this weekend and perhaps, if a replacement hasn’t been found, the following Saturday.

But after that, he’s walking.

Mike told the Border Telegraph: “Because there is nobody else to step in I’ve told the club I’ll give them a final two weeks. I’ve no background staff helping me so there’s nobody to take over during the time it takes to get a new manager.

“I have tried my hardest since coming here, but it’s just not happened. There are times when you have to hold your hands up and say it’s time for somebody else to come in.

“I have been saying the same things week after week to the players and it’s not getting through.” McKinnon, who admits he has suffered ill health with the pressures of managing Selkirk, wanted to resign in the aftermath of his side’s 9-1 defeat at Dalbeattie Star last month.

Despite a change of heart, his enthusiasm and appetite haven’t returned.

He added: “It’s a great club and I don’t want them to be the whipping boys of the league.

“If it takes for me to walk away to make the team better, then I should do it. I want Selkirk to be successful.

“It has got to the stage where I’ve been really down all week because of what’s happening on match days. You know, for your own good, when it’s time to walk away.” Talks took place yesterday (Tuesday) with one candidate for the Yarrow Park hotseat.

But club spokesman Ross Anderson wanted to pay tribute to his friend before concentrating on finding his replacement. He said: “The results haven’t gone our way but nobody can criticise the amount of work Mike McKinnon has put in over the past couple of seasons.

“He is passionate about football and about Selkirk, but the poor results were having an effect on his health and we can understand his decision.”