Fort William chairman John Trew has praised the commitment of new manager Chris Baffour.
The Lochaber side – who don’t yet know which league they will be playing in next season – have appointed the former Crawley Town Under-23s coach as Shadab Iftikhar’s replacement.
Baffour will relocate to Fort William and work part-time alongside his managerial duties.
What league he’ll be operating in remains to be seen with the Claggan Park club contesting their relegation from the Breedon Highland League to the North Caledonian League.
Fort withdrew from the relegation play-off with Banks o’ Dee and subsequently appealed to the Scottish FA, but a date for their arbitration hearing has still to be set.
Trew said: “It was Chris’ qualifications and where he’d worked in the past that stood out.
“He’s worked a lot with players of a similar age to our squad, the average age of our squad is about 23.
“That was a plus and with Chris also being willing to relocate it tied in nicely.
“It is a big commitment – there were applicants with children who we considered.
“But we felt it wouldn’t be fair for them to move up at this stage when the club is rebuilding.
“That was another reason why we went for Chris.”
Squad staying
Trew revealed Fort William have retained the bulk of the squad they had for last season, but says it will be up to Baffour to decide who he wants to keep at the club.
He added: “We’ve got a squad of about 22 with another 11 lads to have a look at.
“But we’re waiting for the gaffer to come up, because it’s up to him who he wants to retain and who he wants to release.
“We’ve got the core of the group from last season staying on regardless of what league we’re in, which is good because it gives us something to build on.”
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— Fort William FC (@FortWilliamFC) June 10, 2022
Good applicants – although none from local area
Trew was thrilled with the number of applicants for the Fort William job, although there were none from the local areas.
He said: “We had loads of applicants and some real top notch ones. It was just affording them in some cases.
“It was trying to get the right balance of wages and skills.
“But it’s very encouraging that the position was of interest to so many people, although nobody local applied.
“It doesn’t really concern me, because it’s a hot potato at the moment.
“The club is in transition and it’s a strange job. People expect you to come in and work miracles overnight, but it’s a five-year plan.”