Brechin City chairman Kevin Mackie hopes the appointment of interim manager Ray McKinnon can reignite their faltering Breedon Highland League title challenge.
The Hedgemen have brought in the former Aberdeen, Dundee United and Nottingham Forest midfielder for the remainder of the season after dismissing Patrick Cregg on Sunday.
McKinnon has previously managed Lochee United, Raith Rovers, Dundee United, Morton, Falkirk, Queen’s Park and most recently Forfar Athletic, who he left in November.
The 54-year-old was also in charge of Brechin between October 2012 and May 2015, and he guided the Glebe Park outfit to third, eighth and fourth-placed finishes in League One before departing to Raith.
Familiar face back at Glebe Park
McKinnon returns to Brechin with them sitting three points behind Highland League leaders Brora Rangers, and also trailing the Cattachs on goal difference – with both sides having nine games left.
Speaking to The Press and Journal about the appointment, City chairman Mackie said: “It wasn’t on the agenda for us to change manager. There wasn’t a plan in place, so the logical route was to bring in a temporary manager until the end of the season.
“Ray brings good experience and has been at the club before. Given the situation and the time left in the season, it didn’t make sense to go through an interview process and sound out who might or might not be available.
“We had training on Monday night, we’ve got a game on Wednesday (against Deveronvale at Princess Royal Park) and every game counts, so we needed to move quickly.
“We’re all disappointed things haven’t worked out with Patrick. We’ve strengthened the squad in the last couple of months, but the form doesn’t reflect that.
“We started the season really well and we need to find out why that form has disappeared – hopefully Ray can come in and flick that switch to get us going again.
“Ray’s been tasked with trying to get us back to winning ways. If we can finish the season well, then we might still have a chance of winning the league.
“However, Brora are the form team just now.
“But we have to move forward now because there’s still a job to do for the rest of the season.”
Tough call to dismiss Cregg
Brechin parted company with Cregg following a run of four draws in their last five matches which has handed the initiative to Brora in the title race.
The Hedgemen haven’t won at Glebe Park in six matches, with their last home victory coming on November 9, while they haven’t kept a clean sheet since October 5.
Mackie added: “It was an extremely difficult decision to make and it wasn’t something I envisaged happening.
“We still wanted to support Patrick in the last few weeks, but time is against us.
“It was disappointing to have to make the decision. Patrick is a diamond of a person, we all wanted it to work and I’m sure he’ll kick on again somewhere else.
“Unfortunately, football is a results-driven industry. We felt we were in the box-seat and we were ahead at the top of the table earlier in the season.
“Patrick tried everything he could to get us going again, but the feeling after Saturday was that we needed to change things.”
Maclean happy to help Brora
Brora Rangers legend Martin Maclean was happy to help out his old club in their R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup hour of need.
The midfielder retired last summer after a 12-year stint with the Cattachs.
However, Maclean returned to the Brora fold on Saturday, appearing as a substitute in their Highland League Cup semi-final victory against Deveronvale at Princess Royal Park.
With Connor Bunce, Matthew Wright, Gary Pullen and Ross Hardie cup-tied and Jordan MacRae and James Wallace struggling with injury, Brora boss Steven Mackay turned to Maclean to beef up his squad.
The 33-year-old is also set to be involved when the Cattachs face Fraserburgh in the final on Saturday April 19.
Maclean said: “Steven got in touch a couple of weeks ago once the semi-final was announced saying they were a wee bit short because they’ve got a few boys cup-tied and a couple of boys injured.
“He asked if I’d help out, and I was available on Saturday and I’m available the weekend of the final as well, so it was easy to say yes.
“I went to training last Thursday, which was fine, and I’ve signed a deal for the cup games – it’s not for anything else.
“I’ve kept myself fit, but not really football fit. I’ve just been cycling.
“I played over in Lewis for Back in September. That was my last game.
“But I was only on for 15 minutes on Saturday, so it was OK.
“It was good to see the boys again. I know most of them and I’ve known Steven and David Hind (assistant manager) for a long time.
“When they asked me if I’d help out, I didn’t have any reason to say no.”
Maclean could claim another medal
During his time with Brora, Maclean won four Breedon Highland League titles, six North of Scotland Cups and three Highland League Cups, the last of which was last season.
He hung up his boots last year due to family commitments, but could now pick up another medal if the Cattachs can get the better of Fraserburgh in the final.
Reflecting on retirement, Maclean added: “I’ve enjoyed having my weekends to myself. I’ve missed actually playing – but I haven’t missed all the commitment, the travelling and all the stuff that goes with it.
“I’ve enjoyed spending more time with my family.
“But it was good to come back on Saturday.
“It’s a bit of a strange situation where you just turn up for a semi-final and then a final. The boys have been training all season and putting the work in… and I’ve just turned up!
“We’ll see what happens with the final, but maybe by then there will be a couple of boys back.
“We’ll see what happens when it comes around. I’m quite relaxed about it.”
Final confirmation
Meanwhile, the Highland League has confirmed the venue for the Highland League Cup final.
The showpiece fixture will be staged at Clachnacuddin’s Grant Street Park with kick-off at 3pm on Saturday, April 19.
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