Charlie Charlesworth feels he has come full circle since his last spell with Elgin City.
Charlesworth is back at Borough Briggs in a role as first team coach, having been appointed to support manager Gavin Price and assistant Jim Weir.
It comes nearly 15 years after his last association with the Moray outfit, having previously headed up City’s youth setup.
Since then, Charlesworth has had spells as manager of Highland League sides Lossiemouth, Deveronvale and Huntly, and was most recently assistant manager at junior side Dufftown.
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Charlesworth has fond memories of his previous stint at Elgin, having played a major role in reviving the club’s youth programme from the ashes.
The 59-year-old said: “I was a coach from 2002 to 2004, then I left and did a bit of coaching at other clubs for a year or so.
“When the takeover happened in 2005, that’s when the chairman Graham Tatters gave me a call to see if I would come back.
“I thought it was to take a youth team, but it was actually to head up the whole youth system as it had pretty much collapsed.
“It took a couple of years to get our licence back. They had the Skillseekers programme which had all dissipated.
“At Christmas we were left with outstanding fixtures after the turn of the year, but we didn’t have squads as such.
“I pretty much took a week off from my work, went into the manager’s office downstairs and phoned around all the local lads I knew from my stint as a coach to ask them to come back and get the fixtures played.
“That was a really tough two years, but we got the licence back, and the cheque from the SFA.
“I was really proud of that, but I was worn out. It was pretty much Monday to Monday on top of my own job at work.”
Hard work really paid off
Some of the fruits of Charlesworth’s labour are evident in Elgin’s current first team.
Midfielder Brian Cameron was part of Elgin’s youth set-up while Charlesworth was at the club, and was soon followed by defender Darryl McHardy in making his senior breakthrough.
Elgin’s youth setup has continued to grow in recent years, with the club making use of the artificial surfaces at the Gleaner Arena, which opened last year.
Charlesworth takes pride in the progress that has been made, adding: “I’m really proud of the fact that perhaps that ignited what it is today to a certain extent.
“I’m not making any comparisons in any shape of form, because it was a struggle.
“But it probably allowed the academy to evolve to what it is. Brian Cameron was at the club in that period, while Darryl McHardy joined in 2007 just around the time I left.
“I got a lot of support from Graham, the club and the committee. It was tough times, but we did it.”
Club has moved on over the years
Charlesworth has credited chairman Tatters with progressing the club to where it is now, and says he has been quickly welcomed back to the club since his return last month.
He added: “I’ve got a great relationship with the chairman.
“The club has come on a long way. Graham has really driven the whole thing forward in a lot of areas.
“They have Keiran Carty as general manager, while there’s the astroturf next door and the academy.
“It’s nice to come back to what has become a bigger business, rather than maybe putting out fires 15 years ago.
“It’s the kind of place where you can go in on a Friday afternoon to muck in and do stuff, and get a cup of tea.
“I quite enjoy being back at this level.”
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