Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Ross Draper confirms he is not in contention for permanent return as Elgin City manager

Draper will take interim charge of Saturday's League Two trip to Dumbarton, following the departure of Barry Smith.

Ross Draper. Image: SNS.
Ross Draper. Image: SNS.

Ross Draper has confirmed he has no desire to permanently return as Elgin City manager.

Draper began the season as player-manager, after guiding the Black and Whites to League Two safety in his spell as interim boss last season.

The Englishman stepped down after just five league games, however, with Barry Smith coming in to replace him.

City were left facing further upheaval after Smith stepped down earlier this week due to work commitments – only two months into the role.

Draper will step back in as interim manager for Saturday’s League Two trip to Dumbarton, with a home match against Forfar Athletic to follow on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old insists he will revert to solely playing once a permanent manager is appointed.

Draper said: “I’m enjoying being back playing, and getting good game time. I had a little bit of disruption with an injury I had, but I have come back and felt good in the last couple of games.

“I’ve got no drive to get back into it. For me, it’s too big a job for playing and managing. We need somebody to come in and give it their all to make sure results are right.

Elgin City's Ross Draper.
Ross Draper. Image: SNS.

“The chairman was at training on Tuesday to explain the situation. It will be myself and Stevie Dunn who take it for Dumbarton on Saturday, and possibly Tuesday.

“Luckily for the club we don’t play the following Saturday, so we have another 10 or 11 days.

“It might be a good opportunity for somebody to come in – hopefully that’s the plan.

“We have been told we will take it for Saturday as a minimum.

“It’s the same as last season, one game at a time, and we will see where we go with it.”

Ross Draper well-versed on interim boss duties at Elgin City

Draper says his short-lived spell in charge during the early part of the season will ensure preparations are seamless for a potentially-crucial four days in Elgin’s season.

He added: “There’s no shock to the system, with the fact we have been here and done it. There’s a bit of deja vu.

“Nothing changes really. The boys are fine, and it comes off a good result against Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday.

“Last season we were having bad results and it was a case of having a day to prepare for Stenhousemuir at home.

“I have been among it the whole season, so we are fine. There’s no drastic situation where there is somebody coming in, so it’s as you were.

“We pick a team for Saturday, and go down to Dumbarton to try and get a good result.

“We will then possibly take it on Tuesday as well.

“It’s two big games for the club in the space of four days. It’s a big opportunity for the club to bounce up.”

Confidence remains high following Bonnyrigg victory

Elgin moved off the foot of the table courtesy of their 2-0 win over Bonnyrigg Rose last weekend, which proved to be Smith’s final match in charge.

Barry Smith during Elgin City's 2-0 win over Bonnyrigg Rose.
Barry Smith during Elgin City’s 2-0 win over Bonnyrigg Rose. Image: Bob Crombie.

Former Ross County and Caley Thistle player Draper says confidence remains high within the squad amid the latest change to the managerial setup.

Draper, who revealed Matthew Cooper, Russell Dingwall and Fin Allen close to fitness, added: “The boys trained well on Tuesday, and we had a bigger group on Thursday.

“They will be confident. I watched the game back and for me there were massive positives.

“I’ve always said that if you play in a game, and then watch it back, sometimes it can be completely different. I genuinely think that.

“At the time I thought we were a bit lucky to maybe get a result, but then I watched the game back and it was completely different.

“We were very positive and we deserved the three points.

“As a group, we have to make sure we are positive.”

Conversation