Lawson and Anderson team up at Formartine

North Lodge: Former Dons captain to assist brother-in-law at Pitmedden

old spent two years at Motherwell between 2013 and 2015 before joining Formartine.

Anderson, who began and ended his career at the Dons, was capped 11 times by Scotland. He also had spells at Sunderland, Plymouth, Burnley and Derby County. Lawson, who was on the subs bench for last night’s Highland League game against Lossiemouth at North Lodge Park, is delighted to have signed a two-year contract.

He said: “It’s very exciting. It’s all happened very quickly but it’s something I’m really looking forward to. It wasn’t something I thought about.People have said that I should have gone for the job but I never applied for it. The club approached me. I spoke to the chairman Atholl Cadger and treasurer Sandy Sinclair and it came out quicker than we had planned and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.

“I’m keen to continue playing. That is one of the main reasons that I’ve got my brother-in-law Russell on board as my assistant.”

Sinclair, said: “We are delighted that Paul is our new player-manager and that Russell is his assistant. Both have signed two-year contracts.

“We were all disappointed when Kris Hunter left and I would like to thank Kris and his team for everything they did as they took us to a new level.

“We were very disappointed when Kris decided he didn’t want to take us any further. We had a lot of applicants but always had our eye on Paul.”

“I’m keen to keep playing. That’s why I’ve got Russell on board”

HOMING IN ON THE JOB : Paul Lawson is ready for the challenge and, inset, assistant