Peter Grant has been unveiled as the new manager of Dunfermline Athletic.
Grant, 55, succeeds Stevie Crawford, who relinquished the East End Park hot-seat after confessing to a sense of burnout after a gruelling 28 months in charge.
It is a swift return to the dugout for the experienced coach, who called time on his two-year tenure at Alloa Athletic following the Wasps’ relegation from the Championship earlier this month.
Grant is set to be assisted by Greg Shields, who was part of Crawford’s backroom team but has remained with the Fife outfit.
#DAFC are delighted to announce the immediate appointment of Peter Grant as our new First Team Manager.
➡️ https://t.co/6wrs6OPhCe pic.twitter.com/L6ABjt6JWo
— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) May 28, 2021
The Courier revealed on Thursday evening that Grant had agreed to lead the Pars’ promotion push next term and, despite reservations among the wider fanbase, the club’s hierarchy firmly believe he has the pedigree and football philosophy to be a success.
Grant has also managed Norwich City and Fulham — the latter on a caretaker basis — and has an enviable CV as a coach, having worked with Scotland, Celtic, West Brom, Bournemouth and West Ham.
And, while he will call the shots, Dunfermline are set to implement a support structure which allows him to thrive, with chairman Ross McArthur having recently undertaken a strategic review of how the club can progress next term.
More input will also be forthcoming from Dunfermline’s German investors, DAFC Fussball GmbH, who already own a 30% stake in the club and will increase that to a majority holding of 75.1% over the next 12 months.
Grant will be expected to improve on last season’s fourth place finish in the Championship, ideally mounting a concerted title challenge.
Stevie Crawford ‘honoured’ to have followed Stein, Leishman and Paton in East End Park hot-seat
