Rookie boss Colin Charlesworth looks to learn from bosses he played under after taking charge of Huntly

Colin Charlesworth plans to draw on experiences from every manager he played under – including his dad Charlie – after becoming Huntly’s new boss.

Charlesworth has been appointed at Christie Park until the end of the season following the departure of Allan Hale and Stefan Laird.

The 32-year-old is the second generation of his family to take charge of the Black and Golds, with father Charlie having held the role from November 2017 until July 2018, as well as managing Lossiemouth, Deveronvale and Elgin City.

Colin – who also played for Lossiemouth, Deveronvale and Inverurie Locos in the Breedon Highland League before joining Huntly in the summer of 2021 – said: “I’ve always picked up things from my dad.

“When he was Lossiemouth and Deveronvale manager, I saw what it takes to be a manager and what he did.

“So I’ve learned quite a bit from him – but I’ve also tried to take bits from every manager I’ve played under.

“I’ve played for various managers with different styles and ideas, from my dad to Scott Buchan, Neil Cooper, Steve Dolan and Allan Hale.

“I’ve played for a lot of good managers in the Highland League, and I’m hoping I can take the best bits from all of them and put my own stamp on it.”

Charlesworth won’t get to make his managerial debut on Wednesday night with Huntly’s clash against Forres Mechanics postponed due to the Mosset Park pitch being frozen.

New gaffer doesn’t want teams to enjoy facing Huntly

Looking ahead, Charlesworth hopes to keep the Black and Golds – who are sixth in the league – on an upward trajectory.

He added: “I want to continue the work Allan has done.

“You’ve seen Huntly go from a team in the bottom half to now being a team that’s more competitive, with teams not enjoying coming to Christie Park.

“People have a different mindset when they play against Huntly now – and I want that to continue to be the case.

“I don’t want other teams to enjoy coming to Christie Park to play against this Huntly team. I want to continue to help the club progress.”

⚠️ MATCH POSTPONED ⚠️

Due to the Mosset Park pitch being frozen, unfortunately tomorrow night’s match against Huntly FC has been postponed 👎🏻

🎫 Any tickets purchased on the Fanbase App will remain valid for the rearranged fixture, to be announced in due course. pic.twitter.com/wrSqOlvlmo

— ForresMechanics F.C. (@TheCansOfficial) December 5, 2023

Charlesworth says time on the sidelines due to a cruciate ligament injury to knee sustained before he joined Huntly made him want to become a coach or manager.

“The injury probably changed things for me,” he said.

“When you’ve been involved in football, you want to stay in the game because you know at some stage you’ll have to retire from playing.

“Even though I followed the rehab to the tee to come back, the injury meant I lost what I was probably known for in terms of being a quick, direct winger.

“So, with that happening. the natural progression was to go into coaching. And when Allan offered me the opportunity to coach, it was a no-brainer for me to throw myself into that.”