Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
We’ll take time to find right man
Dalziel confident Airdrie job will attract quality candidate
Mark Pirie
Gordon Dalziel insists Airdrie won’t rush into any decisions on a new head coach after Mark Wilson quit the club.
Wilson announced that he would be leaving the Diamonds last weekend – just days before the first team returned for pre-season training.
Director of football Dalziel and coach Donald Jennow are now leading training, with Jennow set to take charge of their first fixture in the warm-up schedule at Gala Fairydean Rovers on Saturday.
However, Dalziel says the club are focused on bringing in the right man and don’t want to make a snap decision.
“I believe that if Mark had stayed here he would have been successful,” said Dalziel.
“He had a difficult time after joining the club but I think he did a good job and offered a lot as a coach in the circumstances.
“I was desperate to keep him here but, unfortunately, these things happen in football. “I am convinced Mark will pop up somewhere and will do well. “For us, it means we are in the same position we were in before Mark left. We are getting the players ready for the new season. “It’s not the case that we will have to rush in to an appointment because of the set-up and structure we have at the club.” Dalziel added: “We have four weeks until the first game in our cup section so there is time. “With Mark leaving we have a smaller staff, so everyone is mucking in to help out. “The players have been very professional and are showing the right attitude.” Regarding who may be in line for the job, he added: “I have no doubt that there will be plenty of people wanting to take over at Airdrieonians – because it is a very good club with great name-value in Scottish football. “It is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic coach, and we have already
had people express their interest in the position.
“There are a lot of good players here, and some talented young boys as well. We will sit down with the board and have a chat about what suits the club and the budget.”
Dalziel also ruled himself out of a return to the dugout, saying he loves helping out in training but “doesn’t have the bug for” management.
Former Celtic defender Wilson took over at the Excelsior Stadium last October and led the Diamonds to third spot in League One. They were unable to secure promotion in the Championship play-offs after losing out to Alloa.
A statement from the club read: Mark has decided that he now wishes to expand his coaching horizons across the game, and everybody at the club would like to thank Mark for his hard work and solid professionalism and we wish him well for the future.”
Out-going Airdrie captain Iain Russell added praise for his departed manager, saying: “I really enjoyed working under Mark. Both himself and Kevin [McBride], they made it a really enjoyable season for myself. I just wish we could have got over the line in the end.”