Athletic fire Fitzgerald

ATHLETIC have fired controversial commercial manager Kevin Fitzgerald after only two weeks in the job.

The club have confirmed to the Chronicle that Fitzgerald - who hit the national headlines for the wrong reasons last summer - is no longer a member of staff at SportsDirect.com Park as a result of an unspecified matter.

"We have parted company due to a breach of contract," said Athletic's chief executive Mark Moisley.

Fitzgerald, who has previously held roles at Port Vale, Stoke City, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday according to his LinkedIn profile, was sacked by Chesterfield last July after what the club described as a "shameful incident".

The Sky Bet League One club apologised to supporters after an internal investigation found that he had invented a phantom winner of a raffle prize after selling only four tickets.

Chesterfield announced that James Higgins from Surrey had won a trip for two to link up with the Spireites at their pre-season training camp in Hungary, stating on their official website that he could not make the journey due to illness.

Supporters tipped off club secretary Ashley Carson over concerns about the competition.

Before moving in at Athletic earlier this month to take over the role vacated by Moisley after his promotion, Fitzgerald has been working for the Romiro Group.

Athletic were up to speed on the Chesterfield affair but chose to employ Fitzgerald anyway.

"We think Kevin can bring his experience in football to bear here," Moisley said at the time.