East Stirlingshire 'close' to announcing new manager

East Stirlingshire are 'set' to appoint their next manager on Thursday (Photo: Michael Gillen)

East Stirlingshire are ‘close’ to appointing their new manager after the departure of Sandy Clark, with an appointment expected before tonight’s first-team training session.

Clark and his assistant George Paterson left the Falkirk side last week to take the reigns at SPFL League Two strugglers Albion Rovers, and the Shire’s hierarchy have moved quickly to bring to bring in a new management team.

Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, Fraser Cromar, who recently joined the club as community director alongside new chairman Simon Dickerson, said: “We have had around 50 applicants. The interview process has been ongoing this week and we are now very close to an appointment.

"We aren’t quite over the line yet but within the next 24 hours I reckon we will be in a position to name who is the next person to lead East Stirlingshire.

Former management team Sandy Clark and George Paterson are now at Albion Rovers (Photo: Scott Louden)

"Whoever is coming to the club will have the final three matches of the Lowland League season and our cup tie against Edinburgh University too, so it is a good time in that sense as they will have a great chance to look at the squad before the summer.

"There are already players the club wants to be here for next season and we are in the middle of making that happen. The new manager will of course have their say too and have a full summer window to shape their own squad.”

Cromar admitted that the departure of Clark and Paterson did come as a surprise, with the Shire board of directors having already tabled an offer for them to stay at the club next season.

“It was a shock,” he said. “ They were very much part of our plans going forward. Our plan has always been to ensure that we are running in a sustainable way that keeps us on a steady footing, and we believed that Sandy and George had a big part to play in that journey.

“We gave them an offer that we felt was reasonable but they decided to move on. We wish them both the very best for the future and they left on good terms – they have a big fight now with Albion Rovers and we wish them all the best.

“But in football when one door closes another opens and it is an opportunity for someone to take the club forward in what will be an exciting season under our stewardship as we head in a new direction.”

The Shire face Hearts Colts this Saturday away from home on league duty.