Gavin Price hopes to help Brechin City achieve their ambition of a return to the SPFL.
The former Elgin City boss has been appointed as the Breedon Highland League champions’ new manager, succeeding Andy Kirk – who left for St Johnstone earlier this month.
The Hedgemen are aiming for a return to the Scottish League set-up following relegation in 2021.
Price left Elgin in April, having become manager in October 2017.
As a player, Price had two spells with Brechin in the 1990s, the first of which ended when he was sold to Dutch side ADO Den Haag.
Price said: “It’s quite clear what the aspirations are for the club – to get back into the Scottish League.
“Everyone knows that’s what the remit is and we’ll give 100% to achieve that objective.
“It’s not easy to achieve, but that is the aim and is what everyone at the club is looking to achieve.
“It’s a club that’s got a lot of positivity around it and I’m looking forward to being part of that and hopefully playing my part in getting them to where they want to be.”
Continuity key
Stephen Simmons – who has been interim charge of Brechin for the last two games – will continue as assistant manager.
Price, who will take charge of the Angus club for the first time on Wednesday night when Keith visit Glebe Park, believes continuity is important.
He added: “It’s a different situation, because a lot of the time coming into a club there are things you need to fix.
“But I’ve got a different task because wholesale changes aren’t needed given the success the club has had – it’s wee tweaks here and there.
“Going forward, we’ve got to try to maintain and improve on what the club has already done.
“Having continuity is a big thing, so that was why I was keen for Stephen to stay.
“He’s been here and it’s better for the players because I won’t be trying to fix something that’s not broken – we’ll just try to make wee tweaks here and there to keep improving.
“I’m delighted Stephen wanted to stay on because it’s a positive thing for the club.”
‘We wanted stability’ – Brechin chairman Mackie
Brechin chairman Kevin Mackie said Price ticked all the boxes for the Brechin board.
He said: “We were inundated with a fantastic quality of applicants, but as a board we decided that if possible we wanted to go for someone with experience who has been in the Scottish League before.
“We wanted a bit of stability and Gavin ticks all the boxes: he’s experienced and has a good knowledge of the leagues that we look to sign players from.
“His man-management and people skills are very good and all that led to us making the decision.
“With Stephen staying it helps greatly. He’s done a fantastic job in the last few weeks. He’s stepped up to the plate, the players respect him and Stephen staying gives us good continuity. To have him continuing in the management team is a huge plus for us.
“We’ll continue with the plan we’ve got and try to finish at the top of the Highland League if we can, and then try to go on again.
“We know it won’t be easy to finish at the top of the Highland League, because I think the quality across the league has improved again.”
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