Former St Johnstone midfielder Paul Sheerin has been appointed player-manager of Arbroath and he says his sights are set on making a success of his first managerial appointment.
“I’m delighted to get a start in management and now it’s up to me to show I can do the job,” said Sheerin.
“There are no guarantees in life but I’ve got some ideas I want to put in place and I look forward to getting down to work.”
Sheerin was in the frame for the Lichties job five and a half months ago but lost out narrowly to Jim Weir.
Following Weir’s decision to quit Gayfield for Brechin on Monday, however, the Gayfield board immediately targeted him to fill the vacancy.
And after several days of discussion they finally sealed a deal on Thursday morning.
“Jim pipped me to it last time but I must have made a good impression during the interview process because I didn’t have to apply for the post Arbroath got in touch with me to see if I was still interested in becoming their manager,” said Sheerin.
The 36-year-old intends to continue playing.
“That’s the plan, although we’ll have to see if it works out,” he confirmed.
In order to contribute on the field Sheerin knows he’ll need an experienced number two.
“I’ve got a couple of people in mind and will look to move that forward now,” he said.
Former Dundee assistant manager Ray Farningham is thought to be one of the contenders.
The Lichties are confident they’ve made the right choice.
“As well as getting ourselves a hungry young manager looking to make a name for himself, we’ve landed a Premier League player with a good pedigree,” said chairman John Christison.
“It was important to get someone in place quickly and we’re really pleased that we’ve managed to agree terms with Paul.”
Out-of-contract pair Kevin McMullan and Keith Gibson have re-signed for the club while Steven Doris and Darren Hill have agreed to follow suit.
Sheerin will be meeting Doris and Hill over the next couple of days to finalise deals with them