I don’t care what’s gone on before... EK just need to survive
SAYS IAIN DIACK
New East Kilbride Thistle boss Iain Diack doesn’t care about the Jags managerial merry-go-round this season – insisting his only focus is to save the club from the drop.
So far this season Gary Hamilton, Stevie McPhillips and Gary Johnstone have stepped into the Showpark hot seat as they plummet towards the League One relegation spots.
Director Peter Kelsall had previously stated Johnstone would take the team until the end of the season, however it was announced last weekend that former Sauchie Juniors boss Diack would be taking charge.
The 39-year-old previously led the East Region outfit to the Super League before resigning his post.
The former Albion Rovers, East Stirling and Pollok striker revealed he had had interviews for East of Scotland Super League jobs but the Jags felt like the right fit following his exit from Sauchie last year.
Following talks with chairman Brian McMullan, Diack decided the 10-game relegation scrap was the perfect route back into the game.
“I don’t know what has went on at the club previously,” he told the News.
“For me, I spoke to the club and this is the route we went down.
“I don’t know the direction they were thinking about going before but this is the way they have went now. My focus was getting back into the game and now getting the results.”
He continued: “I had been looking to get back in the game for a couple of months now.
“I had been at Sauchie and done pretty well – we had got promoted to the East of Scotland Superleague when I resigned at the end of that season.
“I was looking to take a step away and focus on my family and my job.
“I had been involved in football since I was 16 and I’m 39 now; I’ve been involved in football all those years so it felt like the right time to take a wee step back.
“I spoke to the EK chairman over the past month or two about getting back but it didn’t come to anything.
“I then got another call from Brian and it felt like the right time, so I was only too happy to take the opporunity.”
Diack believes there is enough quality within the squad to avoid finishing in the bottom three – despite sitting six points from safety going into the crunch tie with fellow strugglers Wishaw this weekend.
“East Kilbride havebeen struggling, there is no doubt about that,” he added.
“I spoke to Peter [Kelsall, director] and he talked about some of the things they want to do at the club.
“They told me a lot about the plans, and yes some of them are going to be tough to achieve, but at least they are trying to get somewhere.
“I’ve seen the team a couple of times and they don’t look too far away for that league.
“There are 10 games left and eight of them are at home. There is enough time to pick up the points – starting with Wishaw.”