‘Personal reasons’ behind QoS director resignation

QUEEN of the South director Jim McLinden has resigned from his position with immediate effect and has cited “personal reasons” for his decision. The Dumfries club announced the shock news on Sunday afternoon saying McLinden had submitted his resignation earlier that morning. It comes after Queens kicked off their League One campaign in style with a 2-0 victory up at Cove Rangers. The short statement led to fierce speculation about why McLinden had decided to depart. This prompted the Palmerston board to release a further statement the following day saying McLinden had resigned for “personal reasons”. The statement read: “Jim resigned for personal reasons on Sunday morning and left the club with immediate effect. These things happen in business and we would like to wish Jim and his family all the best for the future.” And the board added that any further update would be communicated in due course but the main priority is what now happens on the park. The statement read: “We had a very good opening day win at Cove. It’s our first game so we need to build on it to achieve the ambition of getting the club out of the division and back into the Championship. “Any further update will be communicated in due course. In the meantime, continue to back the team and thank you for your loyal support.” Businessman McLinden was appointed on the board back in March 2024 after current Palmerston chairman Billy Hewitson – who has been on the board for over 20 years – announced in February 2024 at the clubs’ AGM that the board felt it was “time to allow for new direction and fresh blood” to continue propelling the League One outfit forward. After the 2024 meeting, Hewitson told the Dumfries Courier: “I just feel that when you get to a certain age you need the younger guys who are still supporters and are keen to come forward and take the club forward. The new board will be successful, we’ll make sure of that.” After McLinden was drafted into the Palmy boardroom he was tasked with finding suitable replacements for Hewitson and vice chairman Craig Patterson. However, with McLinden now off the board it looks like Queens are back to square one.