Devonshire Colts president Lee Holder has lifted the lid on ex-coach Kieshon Smith’s exit from the club saying he left by ‘mutual consent’.Smith told The Royal Gazette last week he quit the relegation-threatened side after becoming disillusioned with some of the players’ poor attitudes and unwillingness to train regularly.Yesterday Holder expressed his disappointment with the critical comments made by Colts’ former coach.And he insisted Smith, an ex-Colts player, had in fact been relieved of his duties because he was no longer able to motivate the team’s players. Holder met with club officials last week where the decision was made to replace Smith with Jay Bean.“We’re disappointed in what he has said in his response to what has transpired at the club,” said Holder.“I was at the game against Boulevard and was actually in the dugout during the half-time speech and saw the players with their heads down.“Seeing this, I could see the disconnect and after talking to another member of our coaching staff we called a meeting on the Monday because I thought it was time for a change. We had the meeting and everyone was saying pretty much the same thing.”Holder has not publicly questioned Smith’s coaching ability but did raise doubts over his commitment to the cause and believed the ex-boss had ‘lost the dressing room’.He said: “I called him and informed him of our decision ... it was mutual and he understood. He thanked me for giving him the opportunity. I said to him that there had been a change in terms of the coaching responsibility with the Premier Division team.“I told him that if he still felt he had something to contribute he could approach the coaching staff and that the door with still open with him to work in the programme. He wasn’t fired and he didn’t quit. I told him it wasn’t necessarily an issue with his coaching ability but there was obviously a disconnect in the dressing room ... I think he had lost the dressing room.”“There had also been a meeting with the team early in the season because I felt a disconnect in the side and they questioned (Smith’s) commitment, although I know how players can be when it comes to coaches.“I’m sure there were explanations for this but you have to say that you can’t expect guys to respond to you on game day when you’re not there during the week (at training).”Although Bean has been appointed as Smith’s replacement, Holder said Colts would rely on a coaching team rather than have one man making all the decisions.“When (Smith) recommended that we take Jay Bean to be the next coach, I had a conversation with him and I told him that it wasn’t his job to get in on the process of finding the next coach, but I took what he said and kept it in mind.“At Colts, we have a coaching staff, and only because the BFA wants us to have a coach do we have one.”While Holder still believes Colts can avoid the dreaded drop to the First Division he said safeguarding the future of Colts’ youth programme would be the club’s number one priority.“We aren’t looking to save our season, we’re looking to save our programme because there are some people who are actually mad at what’s going on at the moment,” said Holder.“To make comments about players who have been in our system for years impacts the whole club because when you say only certain players are coming training and name the players that came through the ranks, you are isolating the players who have transferred to us.“We have a good history of sending kids away to college so we need to have players that are coming in.”