Peterhead manager Jim McInally has started making plans for next season without defender Kyle Bailey and striker Steven Boyd after the deadline for agreeing new contracts passed without deals being agreed.
Londoner Bailey played in England for Westfield and Metropolitan Police as well as featuring in Malta for San Gwann and in Norway for Nybergsund before joining the Blue Toon last summer. Kyle gave excellent value in the 23 games he featured in last season in a variety of positions however Jim expects that the 24 year on is moving on as he explained: “Kyle came up to Scotland and played very well however living up here as a part-time player was difficult. He never gave us a moment’s hassle however I would expect him to find something that allows him to get a better balance between football and life away from football.”
“He showed great versatility when he was here and I hope that he takes away some very memories from his time at Peterhead.”
Former Hamilton Accies striker Boyd joined Peterhead in January 2020 and scored four times during his 24 starts and 6 substitute appearances.
The 24 year old made his top team debut for the Premiership side in May 2015 and went on to make 65 appearances and score 5 goals for the Accies, as well as having loan spells at Albion Rovers and Livingston before having a stint at East Fife ahead of moving to Balmoor.
Jim believes it could be a case of ‘job done’ as he explained: “Steven was a very highly rated youngster at Hamilton and did really well on loan at Albion Rovers earlier in his career. However he had lost his way a bit in a footballing sense and that is why we were able to get him in the first place.”
“He has great qualities and we saw that a lot last season. We have helped Steven get his confidence back and I would presume that he is heading to a full-time club so we have done our job.”
“He scored the winner for us against Dundee United in the Betfred Cup so that goal will always be special.”
Discussions continue with attacker Niah Payne with Jim saying: “Niah came in for the second half of last season and it was a win-win situation as we enjoyed his play and he enjoyed playing with us. However he has a young family in Yorkshire and he needs to balance being away from them with playing in Scotland.”
“We will keep talking and see what happens.”
