Steven Dunn is urging Elgin City to offer the manager’s job to Ross Draper following the Moray club escaping a relegation play-off battle in League Two.
Draper delivered the dramatic stoppage-time winner against league runners-up Dumbarton last weekend to confirm City’s place in next season’s fourth-tier.
The Scottish Cup-winner from his time at Inverness has been a key figure in the three-man interim coaching role, alongside Dunn and Charlie Charlesworth.
The trio were handed the job by chairman Graham Tatters and the board when they sacked boss Gavin Price and assistant Jim Weir last month after a damaging 3-0 loss at basement side Albion Rovers.
At that point, Elgin dropped to the bottom of the division on goal difference with a handful of matches to go and the possibility of a relegation play-off and dropping into the Highland League came into sharp focus.
The moment that secured our Cinch League 2 Status 💥
C’mon ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/dklMzk7HxA
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) April 30, 2023
Vital victories against Forfar Athletic and Dumbarton along with a draw against Stenhousemuir were enough to put Elgin over the safety-line.
They lost 3-1 a fortnight ago at Stranraer, but their late win against Dumbarton means they are eighth, one point ahead of weekend hosts Bonnyrigg Rose, who may still need one point to stay up in this final day of the regular season.
Should Bonnyrigg lose to Elgin, Albion Rovers could replace the Edinburgh club in ninth – if they shock champions Stirling Albion by taking maximum points in Coatbridge.
Players respect winner Ross Draper
Dunn hadn’t met 34-year-old Draper until he arrived on loan from Cove Rangers last year.
And his presence on and off the pitch has convinced the former goalkeeper and coach that the Englishman, who also starred for Ross County in the top-flight, is the man to lead the club long-term.
He said: “Nothing has been discussed (with the board). All we agreed was we’d be in place until the end of the season – to make sure we were safe in League Two.
“It’s now up to the board of directors to decide which direction they want to go.
“If it was up to me, I’d be looking for Ross Draper to take the job. He’s been tremendous, from the way he goes about his business and the way he talks to the players, I think he deserves the job.
“Ross is very approachable and that’s how the players see him. He’s won the Scottish Cup and played in the Scottish Premiership. He gets a lot of respect from players and the coaching staff alike.
“He’s been there and done it and that makes a big difference.
“We felt it worked well with myself and Charlie on the sidelines and before Ross joined us in the changing room we’d been discussing how the games were going.
“Elgin is my hometown team and I’d like to continue as goalkeeper coach here, but that will be down to whoever gets the job. ”
Sleepless night before a vital victory
Dunn, Charlesworth and Draper have got the under-fire players to deliver results when it mattered most over the past five weeks.
And for a club he’s served so well as a coach, Dunn admits the nerves were kicking in before last Saturday as the reality of the play-off threats drew closer.
He said: “The pressure really was on. It was the most nervous I had been in the lead-up to a game. I couldn’t sleep on Friday night.
“We were quite poor in the first half and we got the players in at half-time. Ross and Charlie went over a few things and we played a lot better in the second half and had a couple of chances.
“We had a free-kick just before we scored the winner, but Russell hit it and it went straight to their keeper.
“Then, when we got our next free-kick, from which we scored, we actually knew Albion Rovers had been beaten 2-1 (by East Fife). Their game had finished.
“We knew it was a great opportunity for us. We knew if we scored we’d be safe. That’s why everyone on the bench and on the pitch went ballistic.”
SUPPORTERS BUS
We are putting on a bus for our final match of the Season away to Bonnyrigg.
Come and support the boys. ⚫️⚪️
Booking info 👇 pic.twitter.com/Jq8uYNbogz
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) April 27, 2023
Relief all round after dramatic win
Dunn explained some straight-talking in the build-up to the crunch clash with Dumbarton fired City’s determined players up.
He added: “Everyone realised the importance of the situation. If you are relegated, people’s jobs are on the line. We talked to the players about that.
“I said the one thing players don’t want on their CVs is they played for a club that got relegated. I never wanted that either, being part of an Elgin side relegated.
“All the players took that on board and worked hard to turn it around. All the credit goes to the players – they worked their socks off.
“You could see they were determined to win games. We suffered a blip against Stranraer, although Stranraer were very good and had the new manager bounce (with Scott Agnew appointed). It was good to bounce back with the win at the weekend.
“There was a massive relief afterwards, for everyone at the club. We now know we’re still in League Two next season. We don’t need to go into the play-offs and the season finishes on Saturday.
“Our main objectives were to stay in the league and our season to finish on May 6. That’s what we’ve done – all the pressure is off.”
Let’s secure an enjoyable victory
So, Elgin can finally go into a fixture with the weight off their shoulders. Dunn wants one more victory at Bonnyrigg on Saturday to sign off with to secure eighth position.
He said: “We want to continue where we left off. There is no pressure on the players and we want another win.
“We’re going there to win and hopefully we can enjoy it. There will be a lot of pressure on Bonnyrigg, who might need a result, depending what happens with Albion Rovers.”
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