All in all, until Saturday things had been ticking over not unreasonably at Foresters Park.

The team which finished mid-table in the South Division last season had for the most part moved on but boss Hamish Colgan had recruited new men who after losing their opening fixture to Dunbar United had put together a run of four games in which they’d accrued 10 points, to leave them sitting in the top four.

A home defeat by Superleague outfit Broxburn Athletic in the East Of Scotland Cup three weeks ago was no disgrace, and although Tranent lost 3-1 at Stoneyburn a fortnight ago their performance was reasonable and on another day they might well have taken something from the game.

Saturday’s trip west to face Harthill Royal appeared to present Tranent with the opportunity to return to winning ways, but the situation at Harthill recently has been far from clear to those on the outside and the fact they’d lost by just one goal at West Calder United in their previous outing suggested it would be nothing like a walk in the park for Colgan’s men.

On the smaller than average Gibbshill Park pitch, things started reasonably well from a Tranent perspective and they’d created several openings before suffering a major setback when left-back David Swan was red-carded. Swan’s part in an incident involving an opposition player left the referee, well placed to observe goings on, with no option other than to send the youngster off, leaving Tranent a man down with more than 70 minutes to play.

Inevitably the course of the game was changed and Harthill were clearly lifted by their numerical advantage, going on to net the opening goal just a few minutes later. Steven Finlayson, however, pulled a goal back for the visitors’ 10 men, raising hopes that they might yet return home with a positive result – at this stage a point would probably have been acceptable, but there were chances to take the lead, although ultimately they weren’t taken.

The teams remained level at half-time but things deteriorated considerably for Tranent over the course of the second half. Lax defending, a problem generally in recent weeks, allowed Harthill to regain the lead seven minutes after the restart, but by no means were the hosts in control of proceedings – had Tranent taken any of the chances that came their way they might well have salvaged something from their afternoon.

It wasn’t to be, though, and Harthill were allowed to go on and score a third with quarter of an hour left. Still there were opportunities for Tranent, who actually applied a little pressure after going 3-1 behind, but when Harthill broke and hit their fourth goal with five minutes left all hope was thoroughly extinguished.

In the end Harthill were 4-1 winners, and, given the difficulties they’ve endured in recent years, they could be excused their celebrations at the final whistle.

Naturally the Tranent dressing room wasn’t a happy environment and the manager could justifiably feel let down by players who just weeks ago had given supporters encouragement with their recent good run.

In the wake of Saturday afternoon’s events, Tranent officials convened on Monday evening and it was duly announced that Hamish Colgan had left his post as manager by mutual consent – a disappointing end to his 16-month reign, given the effort and commitment he’d put into the job and the circumstances in which he’d taken on the job, with the club at a low ebb.

It’s no easy task running a football team in these times, with players’ attitudes very different from perhaps even a decade ago, and the frustrations visited upon managers are many. Tranent Juniors must move on, though, and their committee will in due course make appropriate announcements in relation to the management of the club.

The timing of these latest developments could scarcely have been worse, with a first-round Scottish Junior Cup tie looming – Edinburgh United are the visitors at Foresters Park and will arrive as odds on favourites to progress, performing credibly as they are in their first season playing Premier League football.