Family comes first for Scott Agnew as he departs East Fife

It came as something of a surprise when the Fifers announced this week that the 33-year-old midfielder was amongst those who wouldn’t be returning for the new season.

Agnew more than made his mark in the black and gold, popping up with plenty of magic moments across his three seasons in Methil.

But a move back to the south west of the country means that travelling to games, and training, is just a bridge too far for the player, who works in the health and fitness industry, with both he and East Fife mutually agreeing to part ways.

Speaking to EFTV before leaving Bayview for a final time, Agnew said: “It’s purely down to travel and my family.

"I have another year left on my deal but the club have been good enough to let me out of that.

"I’m moving back to Ayr, where my family is from, so the travel would be a bit much.

"It’s completely for travel reasons and not football because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my three years at the club.

"Everybody behind the scenes has been amazing, in particular the last year with all the uncertainty around coronavirus.

"The club have created an atmosphere where the boys have been relaxed and felt fully supported throughout.

"I have my business and just had a little boy as well so it’s meant that things have fallen into place at once and, unfortunately, that’s meant my time at the club is up.

"But I have nothing but good memories.”

Agnew joined the club in 2018 from Stranraer and would go on to play for the Fifers 97 times, netting 26 goals.

He’s enjoyed an excellent career, listing the likes of Hamilton, Dumbarton and St Mirren amongst his previous clubs.

His time at Bayview has seen him not only hit the net, but turn provider for others plenty of times.

Memorably it was his lay-off on the edge of the box which created the opening for Aaron Dunsmore to find the back of the net against Raith Rovers in 2018, handing the Fifers their first win over their kingdom rivals for over three decades.

"A lot of things have happened over the three years,” he added.

"I’ve managed to get on the scoresheet often and had a great relationship with the supporters.

"I scored my 100th goal while I was at East Fife and not long ago made my 500th appearance.

"It’s been amazing – I’ve really enjoyed it.

"The gaffer gave me a freedom and a responsibility to go and chip in with goals and help the team so hopefully I did that.”

The curtain came down on East Fife’s season recently at Clyde, Agnew hitting the net in a 2-1 defeat.

Scoring in the game was an appropriate footnote to what has been a career at the club that all Fife fans will look back fondly on.

"It was nice to get the goal because I went into the game knowing it would be my last for the club,” added Agnew.

"It’s just a shame the supporters weren’t there.”