Crawford steps down as East Fife manager

East Fife have reluctantly accepted the resignation of manager Stevie Crawford in the wake of their 3-1 home defeat by Forfar at the weekend, but the former Scotland international striker will remain at the club as a player for now.

Crawford was appointed to the position in April 2009, six months after joining the club when Dave Baikie left within a year of winning the Third Division title.

A spokesperson at Bayview said: "We would like to thank Stevie for his efforts on behalf of the club during his time as manager and he remains as a registered player for East Fife."

The Methil side presently sit eighth in the Second Division, five points away from the foot of the table, but they have failed to win since defeating bottom club Dumbarton 6-0 at the end of August. No mention of a successor was made, but Montrose player/manager Steven Tweed could be a possibility as he has strong ties to the club and was skipper under Baikie when the Third Division was won.

After a difficult first year in management, Tweed has built a young side at Links Park that have gone five games without defeat with 11 of the 16 players listed for action against Arbroath at the weekend aged younger than 21, including young player of the month Aaron Sinclair. Another possibility is former Berwick manager Allan McGonigal, who is a friend of friend of East Fife Chairman Sid Collumbine and presently combines the role of under-19 manager at Hamilton Accies with being director of football at Bo'ness.