Wick Academy defender Alan Farquhar hailed Gary Manson as the right man for the job as the club’s record appearance-holder was named interim manager yesterday.
Alongside Stewart Ross, who made nearly 200 appearances across two playing spells with Wick, Manson will take charge of the Scorries until the end of the Highland League campaign.
The duo take over from Tom McKenna, who handed in his resignation to the club’s board a week ago with the side sitting in mid-table.
Farquhar has played alongside Manson in the Wick defence for the last 10 years and can think of few better figures suited to take the club forward.
He said: “I don’t think you can ask for much better. Gary has been there for 20 years and has all the experience of playing, while he’s now doing his coaching as well. It’s a good basis to work from and being local, it’ll be a big help with developing and finding players in the local area.
“For me, it’s a great choice by the club putting him in charge. Him and Stewart have never managed before, so it’s a big test in that respect, but we had our first training session with them on Tuesday night and it went well.
“I would think it’d be quite hard to play and coach but we’re quite limited defensively, so he’ll probably help out in that position for now and in the long-term maybe look at stepping back.”
Manson said last month the club was coming to a crucial period, where they would need to look at how they approached the future. Both he and chairman Pat Miller have expressed a desire to look at the club’s youth setup, putting something in place to help bridge the gap between the under-17s and the first-team.
Miller, in his first season as chairman, said McKenna’s decision to step back had come somewhat as a surprise last week and the club had sat on the decision for 24 hours before making it public. Farquhar, who has also turned out for Brora Rangers in the Highland League, felt the time was right for a change at Harmsworth Park.
He said: “To be fair, it’s been a bit unsettled at the club for a wee while now, with results and inconsistency. Maybe Tom stepping away is time for a change and that’s the way to go.
“It’s hard to judge when you’re training and playing – you get on with it. But it was maybe a point where change was needed.”
Wick entertain Rothes at home this weekend, in what will be Manson and Ross’ first game in charge. They sit ninth with 32 points from 24 games, with Farquhar struggling to pin-point why they have been so inconsistent this campaign.
He added: “We have come up with good results against teams we’re expected to struggle against and then got beat by teams we’re expected to get a result against. We probably deserve to be where we are as we’re just too inconsistent.
“I think morale has been a bit low for a while and performances have dipped slightly as well. Hopefully a bit more belief and work ethic will help us through games.”
