SALTCOATS Victoria's season has been thrown into turmoil after the club's players 'downed tools' following the decision to part company with boss Bryan Slavin.

The shock move came just days after the former Auchinleck Talbot star spoke to the Herald about his hopes of leading the Campbell Park club up the table following their second win of the campaign.

The parting of the ways came after Vics' 4-0 victory over Easterhouse on November 11 drew them level on points with the Glasgow club at the foot of the Fourth Division.

Slavin's departure resulted in the club's players, in the words of their former boss, "going on strike" and refusing to train or to make themselves available for Saturday's trip to BSC Glasgow.

The West of Scotland Football League announced that the match had been awarded in the Yoker-based club's favour "as Saltcoats Victoria could not fulfil the fixture".

READ MORE: Saltcoats boss looks to climb the table after Vics' second win of the campaign

Slavin, who was appointed just five months ago, has now been replaced in the Campbell Park hotseat by Stevie Wilson, whose managerial CV includes stints at Ardrossan Winton Rovers and Irvine Vics.

Speaking to the Herald this week, Slavin said: "It was dealt with shabbily to say the least.

"Players were not happy with the decision so downed tools and went on strike. [There was] no training last week and the club had to forfeit the game on Saturday as they had no squad, due to the way this was handled.

"As far as I'm aware, there is a committee meeting on Wednesday [November 22] to speak with players and probably to check if they have a team."

The departing boss also branded the decision as "probably the worst decision in Saltcoats' history".

READ MORE: Slavin hails Vics' resilience as Saltcoats chalk up first win

Following his appointment in the summer, Slavin said he wanted to create a club where "local young players get the chance to play and develop".

With that in mind, a link was created with Three Towns youth side TASS Thistle - but according to Slavin, who previously managed Winton Rovers and Largs Thistle, this has now also been severed.

New boss Wilson has been without a club since leaving Third Division Port Glasgow in September after nearly two years in Inverclyde.

Wilson brings with him his brother Davie and former Ardeer Thistle man Derek Gemmell in the new Campbell Park coaching team.

When he first took the job on, Slavin spoke of his "long-term" vision for Vics - and admitted that the prospect of a project at his home town team had persuaded him to break his vow never to manage again.

READ MORE: Saltcoats Victoria appoint Bryan Slavin as manager

He was appointed after the departure of Derek Frye, who parted company with the club after their relegation to the WoSFL's Fourth Division.

Vics' 2022-23 campaign yielded only three wins and five draws, and Slavin's arrival followed the departure of the club captain and its two top scorers from last season.

Saltcoats lost their first six matches of the new campaign, eventually registering their first points with a 4-2 win at home to Royal Albert in mid-October - with the victory over Easterhouse earlier this month suggesting that the green shoots of progress were beginning to show.

After his appointment Slavin spoke to the Herald about his "long term" vision for Vics as a place to be recognised for developing young talent - one which he acknowledged would take years to deliver.

Club secretary Don Currie said this week: "I can confirm that Bryan Slavin has been replaced by Stevie Wilson as manager of Saltcoats Victoria FC."

If the row with the club's players is resolved, Vics are due to return to action this Saturday, November 25, against Knightswood at Campbell Park.