Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton bids farewell to players as Lurgan Blues exit draws near

Gary Hamilton has been in charge at Glenavon since 2011

Gary Hamilton will almost certainly NOT be in charge for Glenavon’s clash with Carrick Rangers on Saturday.

As revealed by the Belfast Telegraph on Monday night, the former Northern Ireland striker’s 12-year reign at Mourneview Park is set to come to an end.

Talks have continued over the past 24 hours to find an amicable solution, which will see Hamilton leave his boyhood club this week.

Glenavon have remained tight-lipped on the situation but it is understood that Hamilton spoke to his players before training on Tuesday night.

With assistant manager Paul McAreavey currently serving a whopping 11-game ban, first-team coach Mark Ferguson could be asked to take the reins at the weekend with Hamilton’s exit likely to be confirmed before their next fixture.

Hamilton signed a contract extension with the Lurgan Blues in March 2021, which was due to run until the end of the 2024-25 campaign, but his job has come under major threat twice in the past seven months.

There was huge pressure on the former Glentoran and Portadown striker in February when his side endured a 10-game run without a win but despite murmurings of discontent within the Lurgan club’s board, Hamilton led his men to a 10-game unbeaten run which clinched a seventh-place finish and a place in the European Play-Offs.

But it was another difficult summer as star striker Matthew Fitzpatrick was sold to Linfield, while Hamilton was unable to compete with most rivals for new arrivals due to budget constraints.

When the new Sports Direct Premiership season started with four defeats in a row, the powers-that-be were being put under pressure by fan fury from a section of the club’s supporters.

Hamilton appeared to