A game of two halves
EK posts are welcome distraction for brothers after job losses
Brothers lose Rolls-Royce jobs but take over at EKFC
East Kilbride coach Chris Aitken has revealed that as one working relationship with brother Stevie kicks-off, the final whistle has blown on another.
Last week Stevie was appointed as the new Kilby manager alongside Chris and Rangers legend Ian Durrant.
But the Aitken brothers have been dealt a cruel blow after it was announced they are among the 700 workers from the Rolls-Royce plant at Inchinnan to lose their jobs.
The pair have spent much of their footballing careers working side-by-side for the aviation giant, with Chris also playing under his elder brother at Stranraer, where he was also a coach before his move to Lanarkshire.
Now their focus will be on taking part-time East Kilbride to new heights.
Chris, 39 and the younger sibling by three years, said: “It’s been a great distraction getting involved at East Kilbride.
“We got some bad news during the week that we will be losing our jobs at RollsRoyce..
“The two of us worked in the process lining, maintaining the aeroplane parts. We did the same job, same shift and everything.
“It’s just unfortunate the times we are living in now that these things are happening and we won’t be working there together for much longer.
“I’ve got four kids to look after so I’ll just need to get back on it once it all finishes up in a few months and get another job. But it’s life, I’ll just get on with it.
“It was nice to get a bit of good news with the East Kilbride job, it gives me a new challenge and it will be good to work with Stevie.
It’s something I was always hoping for because I’d seen how his management skills were as a player.
“Now the chance has come, I didn’t want it to pass me by. We are just raring to go.”
East Kilbride will be pushing for promotion to the SPFL next season.
But a big challenge awaits, with defending champions Kelty Hearts, Bonnyrigg Rose and BSC Glasgow streets ahead of them last season, following a seventh place finish.
When the new management team will be able to start in earnest remains unclear.
And with no clear start date for the lower leagues in Scotland to return from the Covid-19 shutdown, it is very much a waiting game.
But that doesn’t mean that the Aitken brothers won’t be busy having heated debates about team selections or tactics.
Chris added: “We’ve worked together for the last 15 years, so I probably see my brother more than I see my missus and the kids.
“I think it’s a given there will be a few arguments.
“Outside of football, the two of us are really close. We’ve got the same group of pals.
“We were out golfing on Friday and I think it only took us until the fifth hole before we started arguing, so I think it will be a given.
“The two of us have been in the game a long time now, so we know what we need to do. We need to be professional.
“The brotherly relationship goes out the window when we go to work.
“When I was the player and he was the manager, we weren’t brothers – and I think it will be pretty much the same in management.
“He’s the manager and I’m the coach, so unfortunately there will be times where I need to do what I’m told.”