Chairman Gordon Carter has backed interim manager Colin Charlesworth to make his mark at Huntly following the resignation of Allan Hale.
After three-and-a-half years in charge at Christie Park, Hale and assistant Stefan Laird have left, with the duo linked with manager-less Elgin City in recent days.
Black and Golds chief Carter has handed Charlesworth, who joined as a player in 2021 before being added to the coaching staff, the job of manager until the end of the season.
Senior players Alex Thoirs and Zander Jack will assist Charlesworth. who has previously played for Deveronvale, Inverurie Locos and Lossiemouth, and Carter is confident Huntly – who are currently sixth in the Breedon Highland League – can continue to progress.
Natural step to appoint new boss
He said: “Colin’s been a very good player in the Highland League for more than a decade.
“He was unlucky with an injury and he’s been doing his coaching badges, taking training and taking the Under-21s.
“We feel it’s the natural progression for him to take charge, we wanted to bring him on over a longer period.
“But Colin’s the right man for us at this moment in time and will get good support from Zander Jack and Alex Thoirs, who have been around the Highland League for a long time.
“Colin will be the manager for the remainder of the season to see how he feels about doing the job.
“It’s a huge job being a manager and people who haven’t done it don’t realise how many things go with it.
“So it’s a case of seeing how he feels it fits into his life, we’re not going to be putting big pressure on him.
“When you have a young guy who you can see with that potential you give them a shot.
“Colin’s dad (Charlie) was our manager previously (November 2017 to July 2018) and his brother Martin played for us, they’re all good people and I’ve got no doubt Colin will make a right go of this.
“The players all respect him, he’s very tactically aware and this is the next phase of the journey to see how things go for the remainder of the season.
“We’ve got a great bunch of players who I’m sure will knuckle down and get on with it.
“Colin’s excited to get going and so are the players, it’s a matter of us working hard and trying to stay in the top half of the table.”
‘Nothing lasts forever’
Hale and Laird arrived at Huntly in June 2020 and following a first season that was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic they led the Strathbogie side to a 10th spot in the 2021-22 campaign and eighth last term.
In 2022 they also led the Black and Golds to the final of the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield, the club’s first final in 14 years.
Carter is disappointed to lose them and added: “Both Allan and Stefan are tremendous coaches who have worked tirelessly for Huntly to get the best out of a group of good young players.
“They’ve done well, we’ve seen progression and I’m very happy with the way things are happen.
“I’m disappointed to lose them, but nothing lasts forever and football is football.
“We’ve now got to give Colin, another young guy who we feel has a big future in coaching and management, our support to keep the team moving forward and get the best out of the players.”
