Raith Rovers have confirmed 15 players are leaving the Stark’s Park club.
As revealed by Courier Sport on Tuesday, striker Gregory Tade has decided to move on and is expected to be fixed up with an SPL side in the next few weeks.
The list of those released includes experienced defenders Mark Campbell and Craig Wilson, goalkeeper Andy McNeil and midfielder Stephen Simmons.
The others are Graeme Beveridge, Kevin Brown, Mark Ferry, Tam Graham, Jamie Mackie, Jordan McKechnie, Jamie Stewart, Gary Wales, Craig Wedderburn and Graham Weir.
That leaves manager John McGlynn with a first-team squad of nine senior pros at Raith as it stands, which will be supplemented over the summer.
McGlynn paid tribute to the contribution the freed players have made during his time as manager and, in some cases, before that.
“There are guys like Mark Campbell and Craig Wilson who have been here a long time. I’d like to think we’ve come through some really good times and have taken a lot of steps forward.
“There are others like Graham Weir and Stephen Simmons who I’ve had a long association with after bringing them through the youths at Hearts.
“It’s not been through choice that this has happened. I’m guided by the board and I know that we need to cut back.
“If we had won promotion it could have been that some of these players would have been staying on and playing in the SPL.
“The fine line in football has been shown dramatically in our case. I’d like to thank them all for their efforts and wish them well.”
The process now begins of “bringing in some fresh faces,” McGlynn reported, and he expects to sign three or four players this close season.