Paton to step into Brechin hotseat

Brechin City are set to have one-time Aberdeen striker Michael Paton in charge for Saturday’s game at Albion Rovers following the sacking of manager Mark Wilson and his assistant Simon Donnelly.

The 31-year-old, who joined the Glebe Park side in the summer after leaving Queen of the South, will take the managerial reins as the search for a new boss begins.

It could see the League Two strugglers send out an SOS to former boss Jim Weir or ex-Queens and East Fife manager Gary Naysmith.

Weir ,51, has the unique distinction of managing all four Angus clubs, starting off at Montrose before a spell at Arbroath was followed by two years at Brechin.

In 2017, after nearly three years with Elgin City, he moved to Forfar and led them to the League One runners-up spot in 2019.

But he resigned last November to focus on recovering from a traumatic head-on car crash.

Weir, however, is now back to full fitness and ready to return to management.

Four months on from his departure as Hearts’ loan manager, ex-Scotland international Naysmith is also keen to get back to being a boss.

He guided East Fife to the League Two title in 2016 before moving to Palmerston Park.

The former Everton full-back – capped 46 times for the national team – was dismissed last May, just days before Queens’ play-off against Montrose to stay in the Championship.

Earlier this year, he said: “I had more than 250 games as a manager in four or five years between East Fife and Queen of the South, then I was out the door.

“The first bad run I had and I was gone so you have to learn from that, and I’ve done that. I’ve done a lot of selfanalysing so that the experience makes me a better manager.”