Alex Smith, the Godfather of Scottish football, to retire at the end of the season

Falkirk have confirmed that their technical director Alex Smith is to leave the club at the end of the season.

The former Aberdeen and Ross County manager, who joined the Bairns in 2009, will retire and emigrate to Australia to join his family.

The club are set to honour the 78-year old with their final league match of the season against one of Smith’s former sides, St Mirren dedicated to his career.

Smith has enjoyed a managerial career spanning almost five decades.

In that time, he has won the Scottish Cup with Aberdeen and St Mirren, the Scottish League Cup with Aberdeen and has also taken charge of sides including Dundee United, Ross County, Clyde, Stirling Albion and Stenhousemuir.

Smith was recently named the oldest manager in Europe after he took interim charge of Falkirk during their two victories over Greenock Morton and Dunfermline earlier this season, before Paul Hartley’s managerial appointment.

In 2016, Smith was inducted into the Scottish football hall of fame at Hampden Park. He also holds the feat of managing every Scottish national team age group up to and including the former B Team.