Former Hibernian captain Ian Murray was appointed as Player/Manager of First Division Dumbarton and three former Easter Road bosses can expect their phones to be busy as the rookie gets to grips with his new job.
The 31-year-old, who was capped six times by Scotland, returned from a coaching stint in America on Tuesday to complete discussions with the Sons' Board on Wednesday and he said: “There are a lot of guys I played against that have become Managers like Paul Hartley, Paul Sheerin, Colin Cameron and Steven Pressley and to get a chance in the First Division is an excellent opportunity for me.
“The aim has to be to keep the club in the First Division. It will be a tough ask as the League table does not lie. It is a part-time team in a full-time division but I am not daunted by the challenge”.
After two stints as a Hibs' player and nearly 300 games, Murray will have no hesitation in using his green and white connections as he explained: “I have tried to learn something from all the Managers I worked with but the biggest influence on me was Alex McLeish. I was just a youngster at Hibs and he gave me my debut there and then took me to Rangers.
“I also worked closely with Colin Calderwood and remain in contact with him as I do with Mixu Paatelainen. Donald Park was my Youth Manager at Easter Road and the assistant there as well three times so I have a good network of people that I can phone up and speak to and ask for advice.”
Of all his Hibs connections, McLeish is the one Murray will probably turn to most as he said: “I will definitely speak to Alex as it was a real compliment when he went back to Hibs to take me to Ibrox. I know that they will be there for me although I know Mixu is hard to get hold of in his Finnish National job.
“I will be my own man but I am sure Alex will be happy for me to get in touch as he still gives Sir Alex Ferguson a ring.”
One Manager that Murray will not be getting in touch with is his former boss at Norwich City, Glenn Roeder, and although Murray does not recognise it, it sounds like he also provided lessons for the new Dumbarton boss.
Murray had an unhappy spell at Carrow Road in between leaving Rangers and returning to Hibs and he said: “Glenn made me feel like walking off the park and he is the one Manager I probably never learnt anything from. It was not just me that did not want to play for him. There were a few and as soon as your players do not want to play for you, you are in trouble.
“Roeder accused me of not trying and that is the one thing I have always done. He never said it straight to my face either and in general, he was an angry guy but there is no point in having any bad feelings as that is the way he wanted to go.”
Murray added: “Everyone says things in the heat of the moment and I have seen top Managers do that and then apologise a couple of days later and that keeps the dressing room on board. As soon as you lose the dressing room, you are finished.
“On the other side, Colin Calderwood was a great guy and we never played well enough for him and he got the sack so management is certainly not easy.”
Murray had left Hibs in the summer after a Testimonial and after failing to win a contract at Dunfermline Athletic after undertaking pre-season there, he played one game as a trialist for Brechin City before heading west to the States.
“I was out there coaching kids and only came back to Scotland on Tuesday and I was here with the Dumbarton people yesterday. We had some contact a few weeks ago and then it went quiet and then last week we started talking again.
“I was looking to get back into football in Scotland and had noticed a couple of clubs were looking for Managers so my agent took things up initially.”
It will be a while until Dumbarton fans see Murray combining his roles as he explained: “I have the playing side of things as well but I am a few weeks away from playing. I could run 10k but I am not match sharp enough to play at the moment.”
Murray has been preparing himself for management over the last couple of years although his plans were interrupted by Heart of Midlothian as he jokingly explained: “I completed my UEFA B course last year and will go for the A one next year. I was going to do it in the summer but it was two days after the Hearts and Hibs Scottish Cup Final and I was lying low by then.
“I have done some coaching at Coldstream and then Spartans and took Hibs Under-17s for training but getting into management is something I have wanted to do.”
Assistant Manager, Jack Ross, is staying on after a spell as Interim Manager with Murray set to lean heavily on him as he said: “I do not know a lot about the players but Jack knows them well and he will take the team for the game at Dunfermline on Saturday although ironically, I do know a wee bit about them after my spell as a player before I went to America. I know Jim Jefferies well too and his assistant, Gerry McCabe, used to be at Dumbarton so it is quite an ironic meeting.”
Murray went off to meet his players last night and said: “The Scottish Cup tie with Hamilton next Saturday will be my first game in charge. I am very keen to get going.”
article courtesy of the Scotsman Newspaper
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