The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Young takes over New Bayview reins
Darren Young is relishing his new life in Fife after taking charge at East Fife.
The former Albion Rovers gaffer was selected to replace Barry Smith after he left the Methil club for Fife rivals Raith Rovers.
Young guided Albion Rovers to the League Two title in 2014/15 and ensured the club’s safety in the tier above before leaving towards the end of last season.
He said: “This is a good and well run club.
“After sitting down with the chairman and the board the other day I knew they matched the same ambitions as myself.
“They want to progress and improve on what was achieved last season.
“We’re getting an astro surface put down which is a big plus for me as well as it’ll give us the chance to get the ball down and pass it.
“I want to improve as a coach and a manager and see this as a step up now.”
Despite being one of the favourites for the drop at the start of last season, East Fife instead found themselves battling at the top end of the division.
A charge to make the end of season play-offs only ended on the final game of the campaign and Young says he can build on that.
He added: “They did really well last year and just missed out on the play-offs. In all honesty they should have made the play-offs but didn’t due to injuries.
“In the second last game of the season there were six or seven teams who could have got into the play-offs.
“They’ve retained a good core of the squad from last season and have a lot of guys I liked from playing against them.
“It’s going to be a harder league than it was last year with Raith and Ayr coming down and Forfar and Arbroath coming up.
“But I’m happy with the squad I have so far and will look to bring in another six or seven players to add to it and improve on last season.”