Fiacre Kelleher: Macclesfield skipper looking for new club following relegation
- Published
Fiacre Kelleher began his career as a youth player with Celtic before moving south in the summer of 2017
Macclesfield Town captain Fiacre Kelleher is looking for a new club following their relegation.
The Silkmen's request to stay in League Two because there "appeared to be no guarantee" when the National League will start was turned down last week.
"They extended an option on my contract to keep me for another year," the 24-year-old Irishman said.
"And then, as of Tuesday, we were relegated, so that kind of took away my option and now I'm a free agent."
After the 2019-20 season was ended early by coronavirus, Kelleher was one of only two players under contract for next season, along with Fraser Horsfall, who has since joined Northampton Town but five others, including their longest-serving player David Fitzpatrick, were offered new deals.
Macclesfield were subsequently deducted two points, with four more suspended, by an independent panel for breaching regulations relating to non-payment of wages, which meant they finished next to bottom of League Two.
But the English Football League won an appeal against the panel's decision, and the four extra points were also deducted, dropping the club below Stevenage to the foot of the table.
Kelleher is critical of the length of time it took to complete the process, following which head coach Mark Kennedy and assistant Danny Butterfield also left.
"This should have all been dealt with by May or June," he said, "giving everybody a fair chance to get out and try to find a different club.
"They've taken it now to a stage where I thought I was going to be back there playing football and now two, three weeks before the new season is meant to start I found out that I don't have anywhere to play."
Kelleher made 88 appearances for the Silkmen after joining them from Oxford United in the summer of 2018, initially on loan, 40 of them during the 2019-20 campaign.
"Just the fact that it's all over," he added. "There's a bit of relief, but anxiety quickly takes over as to what's going to be next down the line for me.
"I really hope that the club can get to a sustainable place, where they can bring in a good team, pay them on time and just have a real go at trying to come back up."