Ex-Aberdeen Women defender Carrie Doig has returned to football, but this time she’ll be on the touchline as a coach at Inverurie Locos Ladies.
Doig called time on her 18-year association with Aberdeen when she retired from playing at the end of the 2021/22 SWPL 1 season.
She has joined Locos Ladies – who were only established in the summer – ahead of their debut season starting on January 15.
The chance to get involved at Locos, Doig says, was “too good” to pass up – although the 29-year-old revealed she was originally approached in the hope she would reverse her retirement decision and join the club as a player.
She explained: “The head coach Stuart (Wood) reached out to me asking if I would come out of retirement and join the team as a player.
“I wasn’t ready to go back playing, but he knew I was interested in coaching so he offered me that role, and it was too good an opportunity to miss out on.
“I want to move forward with my coaching, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for me to get my foot in the door – starting with a completely new team and at a good level.
“It’s an opportunity I don’t think will come up again – it’s an honour and has been a privilege to be part of the first-ever Inverurie Locos women’s team.
“It’s definitely a team that’s going to grow and develop together. The first season will be challenging, but there is so much potential at the club which is really exciting.”
Inverurie Locos Ladies kick off their campaign away to fellow new north side Huntly FC Women in the newly restructured SWFL – which is the fifth tier of Scottish women’s football.
Top-level experience will be passed on to Locos players
During her time at Aberdeen, Doig won consecutive league titles and promotions in 2019 and 2021, and was part of the match-day squad for the top-flight Dons Women’s first-ever game at Pittodrie in March.
She hopes to use her experience to help the Locos players through the demands of the senior game, as a number of the squad have only just made the step up from playing youth football with Colony Park Girls.
Doig said: “One of my main roles just now is opening the players’ eyes up to what it’s actually going to be like: the demands, the physicality and the fitness needed for senior football.
“The girls are going to come up against some really experienced players in the league, so it’ll be really different to what they’ve been used to playing against.
“I know a lot of the players from the other teams who will be playing in our league, so that will be quite useful to share with the girls.
“And even with the tactical side of the game as well. Although they’ve done tactical stuff before, it’s a whole new ball game when you step into the women’s game.”
Welcoming our new coach Carrie Doig. A welcome addition to the coaching team, Carrie has joins after a long career with Aberdeen Ladies. Her Experience and ability that will be valuable to the club and the players a like. She joins Scott Graham, Michelle wood and Stuart wood. pic.twitter.com/ux10WySOnj
— INVERURIE LOCO WORKS FC LADIES (@locoladies) December 26, 2022
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