Airdrie and their Manager Gary Bollan are enjoying a mini revival just now with the Diamonds coming off the bottom of League 1 and the 40-year-old building his reputation again.
Bollan took over in October with the Excelsior Stadium side adrift at the foot of the table however survival this season is now something that Airdrie can achieve.
The former double league manager at Livingston would enjoy achieving that almost as much as he is enjoying being back in the game as he explained: “I spent almost 18 months out of the game which was frustrating. I took in a lot of games and completed a good few match reports for St. Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
“I continued to work in football in some capacity but I always wanted to return as a manager.”
His time away from the game still annoys Bollan who said: “What made that time all the more frustrating was that I had been successful at Livingston. I walked out of there with my head held high. Losing my job was hard to swallow as was having to wait until one became available.”
“I look back at my time at Livingston with pride at the achievements we had. We secured back to back title wins and we were sitting in the top half of the First Division when it ended. We were progressing so it was a very disappointing end to a successful time there.”
Despite this disappointment Bollan was keen to get back involved in football quickly and he said: “I was always keen to get back in and I spoke to a few clubs during that time. I was offered one job but it was just not the right one for me so I couldn’t take it.”
“I was interviewed for the Gillingham manager’s job and just missed out to Martin Allen after we both had made it through from the last 6 of a shortlist. I also spoke to a chairman at one club and he was keen for me to come on board however that was held up due to a boardroom restructure.”
Eventually a door opened and when the call from Airdrie came it happened out of the blue and quickly with Bollan saying: “The Chairman Jim Ballantyne called me to ask what my plans where. We agreed to meet up and have a chat at Gleneagles and we spent a couple of hours discussing things.”
“I left Gleneagles to head north to my home at half past three before turning around at half past four to meet the Airdrie players at training when I got a call asking me to come on board.”
“I was delighted to be back involved again.”
Rather than rushing back in Bollan took stock and said: “The first game I was here for was one against Ayr United however Paul Lovering took the team that day. He had prepared them for it as he had been working with Jimmy and I worked alongside him in the dugout.”
“We were bottom of the league by this time however my first proper game in charge was in the William Hill Scottish Cup at Ibrox against Rangers.”
“We lost 3-0 but I thought that the players had put on a good show and I had seen lots of positives in that game. The players worked hard that night and they have carried on doing that and they have performed well in every game since I came in apart from maybe two where I felt that they were under-performing.”
Bollan added: “We worked the players hard when we first came in and we are getting the rewards just now after a spell where we struggled to pick up points.”
In total Airdrie had gone 8 games without a win with 5 of these coming under Bollan however there was no panic as their manager explained: “We were improving but results were still not going our way. However I knew that after we had lost 4-3 to Brechin in a bizarre game that we were well placed to turn the corner.”
“We were 3-0 down in that game but we showed a lot of spirit. They had a man sent off and sat in with two banks of four but we kept battling for everything.”
It looked like that spirit had earned Airdrie a point as they got back to 3-3 in injury time however the Diamonds lost a goal straight from the kick off and went down 4-3 with Bollan saying: “It was a disappointing end and of course the goal was avoidable. There is sometimes a lot to be said in saying we will settle for a point and clearing your lines as opposed to leaving yourself open and getting beaten.”
“However the togetherness and team spirit that we showed that night showed that we were progressing.”
Defeat has only been tasted in two games from the eight played since with Bollan saying: “Since then we have picked up 12 points and last Saturday we climbed off bottom spot. It may seem a small step but it is actually a huge step when you consider that we had been bottom for 4 months.”
“It was a massive boost to us and hopefully the players will take a lot of confidence from it.”
There was no resting from the hard work Bollan has been making his players do this week as he explained: “I believe that you make your own luck and good luck comes along with hard work. If we stay up this season it will be down to hard work and not good or bad luck.”
“Last Saturday was a good example we were one down to Brechin and were second best but we hung in the game due to working hard. We ended up winning 2-1 as big Gregor Buchanan went up the park and scored with a header. That is 4 times he has done that for me which is a great return for a kid.”
The Lanarkshire side head east this weekend for a crunch game and Bollan said: ““It is time now to look to climb up the table even further. We go to East Fife this weekend and if we manage to win this one then we go from 4 points behind them to 1.”
“It is a huge game and clubs that are above us are looking over their shoulder and seeing us close in on them.”
Bollan is keen to stress it is not just his return to work that has benefitted both him and Airdrie but a team approach from his off the field team.
“I have to thank my back room staff who have been terrific since I came in. Stuart Balmer is my assistant manager and he has been instrumental in working the players hard.”
“Two other guys that were with me at Livingston and helped achieve the success we had there are also here. Tony Bullock has come in as our goalkeeping coach and Iain Flaherty works in a number of different roles including being our match assessor for opponents and doing some coaching alongside the rest of the team at training.”
“The backroom team have all worked well together as have the players. They have bought in to what we are trying to do. There were jobs on the line if we continued in the position that we were in but they have responded magnificently.”
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