Gordon McKie concedes defeat as he clears desk at SRU after agreeing pay-off

GORDON McKie decided his time was up as Scottish Rugby Union chief executive within 48 hours of the board meeting last week that was trumpeted as providing a 'vote of confidence' in his leadership. He left his job with immediate effect last night, after agreeing to an undisclosed financial settlement.

The 54-year-old had come under increasing pressure within the organisation over the failure of the professional teams and lack of strategy to grow the game, and it was expected that the heat would intensify with the arrival as chairman of Sir Moir Lockhead, the former chief executive of transport firm FirstGroup.

Recent meetings of the SRU board had become tense and at times acrimonious, and McKie faced a call for his suspension from a board member 12 days ago following the fall-out from a stormy board meeting the previous day. An investigation into whether there was a case to answer was ongoing, but it is understood that the imminent arrival of Sir Moir was the real tipping point.

The Scotsman revealed last Thursday that a power struggle was causing turmoil behind the scenes at Murrayfield, with the president, Ian McLauchlan, forced to break his holiday to attend an emergency board meeting. A statement later that day said that the board had "reaffirmed its full support for the Scottish Rugby executive management team" in light of "unhelpful media speculation. But the meeting had failed to disabuse McKie of a fear that his firm control of the SRU was to come under new pressure, and despite the claim that he had the backing of the board, he didn't last a week.

With Sir Moir due to start in his new position in under two weeks, the pressure had become too much for McKie and following discussion with his family he made contact with outgoing chairman Allan Munro on Saturday to begin talks over his departure.

Board members were contacted and discussions held by telephone that led to the agreement that McKie was right to go immediately, with a financial settlement. McKie's salary had risen in recent years from 178,000 to 312,000, including bonuses and pension contributions agreed when Munro and then SRU president Andy Irvine appointed him. Although his severance settlement remains confidential, it is understood to be modest.

After fevered speculation yesterday that McKie had left the building, a statement issued by the SRU press office at 4.28pm officially confirmed the departure, which was later described as being a mutual decision.

Munro has appointed the longest-serving non-executive board member Jock Millican, a former Scotland internationalist, as interim chief executive. Finance director Eamon Hegarty, who was appointed by McKie and has been a long-time business partner, remains in place but it would be no surprise if he departed now that his close ally has gone.

Munro yesterday made no mention of the strife behind the resignation, focusing solely on the chief executive's positive contribution during his term in office. He said: "Gordon has provided great leadership, accountability, stability and transformed Scottish Rugby (the SRU] in the past six years.

"He has achieved a great deal during his time as chief executive and, on behalf of the board and the staff, we thank him sincerely for his extensive efforts in leading the development of our sport at all levels and rebuilding our reputation amongst many of our key stakeholders." He added: "Gordon has demonstrated a willingness and an ability to support the board in the implementation of tough decisions that required to be made in the best interests of the game. Unlike 2005, when Scottish Rugby was close to insolvency, he leaves behind a solid platform and a stable financial base with significantly reduced debt, from which the next phase of developing the game in Scotland can be launched."McKie stated: "It has been a tremendous privilege for me to be appointed to lead the management team that has served the interests of Scottish Rugby over the last six years, and I particularly want to thank them for supporting me. I will look back on my time at Murrayfield with a real sense of pride as much has been achieved since the dark days of 2005.

"I very much appreciated the board's recent unanimous vote of confidence in the executive management team, and I thank them for their continued support. However, from a personal perspective, I instigated discussions last weekend after considering matters with my family, as the time is right for me to leave Scottish Rugby and move on to fresh challenges.

"As a long standing supporter, I will always retain a great interest in rugby in Scotland and I wish my successor and all those associated with the game every success in tackling the challenges that lie ahead."